SNP candidate praised radical Muslim as ‘preacher of peace’

A radical Muslim cleric alleged to have inspired the Fort Hood gunman has been praised in the past as “a preacher of peace” by a prominent SNP candidate with close links to Alex Salmond.

The FBI is investigating communications between Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at the US Army base in Texas, and Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim cleric now based in Yemen. Mr Awlaki has a large following in Britain and counts prominent mainstream Muslims among his supporters.

In 2006 Osama Saeed, who has been selected as the SNP candidate for Glasgow Central for the next general election, wrote that Mr Awlaki “preached nothing but peace”.

Last night Mr Saeed, who was researcher to Mr Salmond before he became the Scottish First Minister, distanced himself from Mr Awlaki, saying that he now felt “cheated” by the cleric.

Mr Saeed said: “I completely disagree with what he has said about Fort Hood, and a host of other matters which he has more recently written and spoken about.”

Mr Awlaki, 38, who on his blog described Major Hasan as “a hero”, has been a regular visitor to Britain and delivers frequent lectures to audiences here by video or via the internet.

Counter-terrorism sources said last night that Mr Awlaki was barred from entering Britain on security grounds, while the anti-extremist Quilliam Foundation said that he was “perhaps the most influential pro-jihadist ideologue preaching in English today”.

Despite his extremist reputation, the cleric has attracted widespread support from mainstream British Muslim groups and individuals.

Azad Ali, president of the Civil Service Islamic Society, wrote last November that Mr Awlaki was “one of my favourite speakers and scholars”.

Mr Ali, whose society’s patron is Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, distanced himself from the cleric’s views last night. He said: “I reject them and disassociate myself from them completely.”

Mr Salmond came under attack two months ago over SNP links to the Scottish-Islamic Foundation, founded by Mr Saeed, after it emerged that the Scottish government had agreed to give the organisation taxpayers’ cash before it was legally established.

The Scottish government clawed back £128,000 paid to the foundation for a £1.4 million “IslamFest” event that was due to take place in Glasgow last June but was abandoned.

An SNP spokesman said last night: “Anwar al-Awlaki formerly expressed moderate views — his more recent comments are disgraceful and have been condemned by all right-thinking people, including Azad Ali and Osama Saeed. Any attempt to smear any individual in the UK over this would be appalling.”

  www.timesonline.co.uk, to read full click view

Related Stories

Scotland Seeks Freedom From UK 28 dec  |  Polls show many Scots want independence for Scotland and the Scottish Nationalist Party has promised to separate the country from the United Kingdom. Al Jazeera reports from the Scotland-England border on the possibility of a split. . . read more

Fighting for Hearts and Minds in Thailand 2 feb  |  Even though Australian and European tourists flock to Thailand, the western media ignores the daily violence in south of the country, where thousands of people have been killed in the past few years by Muslim terrorists. Al Jazeera's David Hawkins reports on the military's attempts to befriend the Muslim population in the south in an attempt to avoid the frequent bombings and shootings. . . read more

Muslim Rave Party Sensation 5 aug  |  Religious zealots are often unintentionally hilarious.  . . read more

Real Commentary of Real Problems 30 jun  |  So Euro 2008 has passed, and with it a commentary work fest for commentators across Europe. This video is of one golden tonsilled man that you won't have heard in Switzerland and Austria. Why?  . . read more

Why Muslims Are Fundamentalist and Terrorists 21 jun  |  An Indian Islamic scholar directly addresses the question of why muslims are increasingly fundamentalist and defines proper Islamic terrorism. . . read more

Pat Condell - Appeasing Islam 10 mar  |  Popular and controversial YouTube video blogger Pat Condell's latest spray concerns the appeasing of Islam by western countries, which he believes is leading to Europe's cultural suicide. . . read more

Turning to Islam in Australia 6 may  |  A documentary following the journey of two Australian muslims, this video helps shed light on Islam and why it is the fastest growing religion in Australia. . . read more