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| Man admits murder of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah | Man admits murder of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah |
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| A man has pleaded guilty to the religiously motivated murder of the popular shopkeeper Asad Shah, whose fatal stabbing just before Easter left the multicultural community of Glasgow’s south side reeling with shock. | |
| Tanveer Ahmed, 33, a Sunni Muslim, was so offended by Shah’s religious proclamations on social media that he drove from his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to launch a sustained attack on him at his newsagent’s shop in the Shawlands area of Glasgow, a few miles south of the city centre, on 24 March. | |
| The 40-year-old was taken to Queen Elizabeth university hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Ahmed admitted carrying out the murder at the high court in Glasgow on Thursday morning. | The 40-year-old was taken to Queen Elizabeth university hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Ahmed admitted carrying out the murder at the high court in Glasgow on Thursday morning. |
| Shah, whose final Facebook update, posted a few hours before his death, offered Easter greetings “to my beloved Christian nation”, was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. | Shah, whose final Facebook update, posted a few hours before his death, offered Easter greetings “to my beloved Christian nation”, was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. |
| This minority Muslim group faces persecution – most recently in Pakistan and Indonesia – and is treated with open hostility by many orthodox Muslims because it differs from their belief that Muhammad is the final prophet. | This minority Muslim group faces persecution – most recently in Pakistan and Indonesia – and is treated with open hostility by many orthodox Muslims because it differs from their belief that Muhammad is the final prophet. |
| In a highly unusual move, following his second court appearance in April, Ahmed released a statement though his lawyer claiming that he had killed Shah because he disrespected Islam, stating: “This all happened for one reason and no other issues and no other intentions. Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.” | |
| Judge Lady Rae told Ahmed: “This was a truly despicable crime motivated, it seems, by your sense of offence at a man’s expression of his religious beliefs which differ from yours. Let me be clear at this stage, there is no justification whatsoever for what you did.” | |
| The court heard that Ahmed has visited Glasgow a few days prior to the murder with a friend who knew Shah and had showed Ahmed his Facebook page.He returned to Bradford but then drove to Glasgow on the day of the murder and on his way watched an interview on his mobile in which Shah had repeated claims he was a prophet. Ahmed was heard in a voicemail message saying: “Listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud”.CCTV footage of the attack showed Ahmed arriving at the shop at around 9pm where Shah was working with his assistant Stephen McFadyen, while his brother Athar was working as a person trainer in the basement.After walking about the shop, Ahmed approached the counter and spoke to Shah, who appeared to offer his hand to him. | |
| Advocate depute Iain McSporran, prosecuting, told the court: “The accused having apparently not received the response he was looking for, reaches into the robes he is wearing and removes a knife with which he attacks Asad Shah, moving behind the counter to do so.” | |
| “Stephen McFadyen, approaches and attempts to assist but the incident is fast moving and he is unable to prevent the attack, involving repeated stab wounds aimed at the head and upper body, continuing.”“Asad Shah attempted to flee his assailant and moved outside the shop but the accused kept hold of him and continued striking him with the knife.”McSporran said that Ahmed continued the “determined attack” outside the shop, despite a “valiant but vain” attempt by Shah’s brother Athar to fend him off. | |
| Ahmed then suddenly stopped and walked calmly to a bus shelter where police found him a short time later. He reportedly told the officers: “I respect what you do and I have nothing against you and so I am not going to hurt you. I have broken the law and appreciate how you are treating me.” | |
| Over the Easter weekend following Shah’s death, tributes flooded in for the much-loved shopkeeper, who moved from Pakistan to Scotland in the 1990s and was the eldest of seven siblings. Local residents who knew Shah described a gentle man who cared deeply for his community and every year would print out his own Christmas cards with personal messages for customers. | Over the Easter weekend following Shah’s death, tributes flooded in for the much-loved shopkeeper, who moved from Pakistan to Scotland in the 1990s and was the eldest of seven siblings. Local residents who knew Shah described a gentle man who cared deeply for his community and every year would print out his own Christmas cards with personal messages for customers. |
| More than 400 people, including Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, attended a candlelit vigil on Good Friday, the day after the killing, organised by two local women – one Muslim and one Christian – and publicised on social media with the hashtag #thisisnotwhoweare. An online fund set up by neighbours of the Shah family raised more than £100,000 in donations. | More than 400 people, including Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, attended a candlelit vigil on Good Friday, the day after the killing, organised by two local women – one Muslim and one Christian – and publicised on social media with the hashtag #thisisnotwhoweare. An online fund set up by neighbours of the Shah family raised more than £100,000 in donations. |