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British Muslims Warn of Activist Recruiters
LONDON, Dec. 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - British Muslim leaders warned Thursday that activists were targeting mosques in Britain to entice impressionable young men into
their causes, news agencies reported.
Their warnings followed the indictment of a young British convert, Richard Colvin Reid, after he was caught on board a U.S.-bound plane, allegedly trying to ignite explosives in his shoes.
Muslim leaders are concerned that Reid is one of many young men who have been attracted by special recruitment agents who, they say, prey on British mosques, reported BBC's online news service on Thursday.
Reid converted to Islam while in prison in Britain for petty offences, but turned activist after contacts with others at a south London mosque.
Abdul Haqq Baker, who runs the mosque that Reid attended, said he knew of hundreds of young recruits just like him, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Those propagating the extreme views are relatively few in number but in the last four or five years we have witnessed that number grow quite frighteningly," he said.
Baker said that Reid came to the mosque to learn about Islam but soon fell in with what he called "more extreme elements". He added Reid then started wearing military gear and talking about fighting
in an armed struggle.
"The recruiting has got out of control," he told reporters. "We have been in contact with the police numerous times over the last five years to warn of the threat posed by militant groups operating in our area ... but nothing was done to clamp down on these people."
Zaki Badawi, principal of the Muslim College, one of Britain's main Muslim organizations, urged government action to protect mosques from radical scholars who, he claimed, were being allowed into the country too easily.
In an interview with British daily newspaper, The Times, published Thursday, Badawi said activist groups were also running afterschool classes to teach younger children a radical brand of Islam.
Badawi said authorities were ignoring the spread of these so-called "after-hours schools" to indoctrinate children. He said the Taliban-style indoctrination, which went unchecked by mosques, was creating extremists and should be closed down.
Badawi told the paper that the Home Office and Muslim communities were reluctant to take action against the hardliners.
Moderate Muslims say radicals are also recruiting at community centers and universities.
Reid, 28, who apparently changed his name after his conversion to Islam to Abdel Rahim, was overpowered Saturday by passengers and crew on board a flight from Paris to Miami which was then diverted to Boston.
He is now in custody in Massachusetts after being charged with interfering with flight crew.
According to reports, one of Reid's fellow worshippers at the south London mosque was Zacarias Moussaoui, a 33-year-old French national.
Moussaoui, of Moroccan descent, has been indicted in the United States for conspiracy in connection with the deadly September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, which killed more than 3,000 people.
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