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Rochdale Muslim leader 'was bludgeoned in Isis-inspired murder' Rochdale Muslim leader 'was bludgeoned in Isis-inspired murder'
(about 1 hour later)
A Muslim community leader was bludgeoned to death in an Islamic State-inspired murder in a children’s playground in Greater Manchester, a court has heard.A Muslim community leader was bludgeoned to death in an Islamic State-inspired murder in a children’s playground in Greater Manchester, a court has heard.
Jalal Uddin, 64, was killed with a heavy weapon by two alleged Islamist extremists who harboured a “hatred and intolerance” of his form of Islam, jurors were told. Jalal Uddin, 71, was killed with a heavy weapon by two alleged Islamist extremists who harboured a “hatred and intolerance” of his form of Islam, jurors were told.
Uddin practised a form of Islamic healing called ruqya, the court heard, deemed by Isis to be “black magic” and its followers worthy of severe punishment or death.Uddin practised a form of Islamic healing called ruqya, the court heard, deemed by Isis to be “black magic” and its followers worthy of severe punishment or death.
The “respected and well-liked” community leader, known to his followers as the “Qari Saab” for his deep understanding of the Qur’an, was killed as he made his way home from the Jalalia mosque in Rochdale on 18 February, jurors heard.The “respected and well-liked” community leader, known to his followers as the “Qari Saab” for his deep understanding of the Qur’an, was killed as he made his way home from the Jalalia mosque in Rochdale on 18 February, jurors heard.
His alleged killers – Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, 21 and Mohammed Abdul Kadir, 24 – were supporters of Isis and murdered Uddin after surveilling him for months, the court heard. His alleged killers – Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, 21, and Mohammed Abdul Kadir, 24 – were supporters of Isis and murdered Uddin after surveilling him for months, the court heard.
Opening the trial at Manchester crown court, the prosecutor, Paul Greaney QC, told jurors that Syeedy and Kadir “stalked Jalal Uddin around the streets of Rochdale” before Kadir launched a savage attack on the older man in a children’s playground. Opening the trial at Manchester crown court, the prosecutor, Paul Greaney QC, told jurors that Syeedy and Kadir “stalked Jalal Uddin around the streets of Rochdale” before Kadir launched a savage attack on the older man in a playground.
Kadir unleashed “repeated forceful blows” to Uddin’s head and mouth, the court heard, leaving him with fractures so severe that his skull was forced into his brain.Kadir unleashed “repeated forceful blows” to Uddin’s head and mouth, the court heard, leaving him with fractures so severe that his skull was forced into his brain.
“These injuries were plainly not the result of a robbery gone wrong,” Greaney said. “On the contrary, they were obviously the result of an attack that was planned – why else did the killer have a hammer with him in a children’s park? – motivated by hatred and by a desire to humiliate Jalal Uddin and undoubtedly intended to kill or, at the very least, cause really serious harm.”“These injuries were plainly not the result of a robbery gone wrong,” Greaney said. “On the contrary, they were obviously the result of an attack that was planned – why else did the killer have a hammer with him in a children’s park? – motivated by hatred and by a desire to humiliate Jalal Uddin and undoubtedly intended to kill or, at the very least, cause really serious harm.”
Greaney told the jury that the pair discovered that Uddin practiced ruqya in the summer of 2015 and “mounted surveillance on him” before the fatal attack. Greaney told the jury that the pair discovered that Uddin practised ruqya in the summer of 2015 and “mounted surveillance on him” before the fatal attack.
Bearded Syeedy, wearing a grey suit and black shirt with his hair tied into a ponytail, sat beside a court officer in the glass-enclosed dock as the prosecution opened its case. Bearded Syeedy, wearing a grey suit and black shirt with his hair tied into a ponytail, sat beside a court officer in the glass-enclosed dock as the prosecution opened its case. Kadir was not in the dock after fleeing abroad three days after the killing, the court heard. His whereabouts were unknown.
Uddin, from Bangladesh, was found severely injured by two young girls, one of whom recognised him because he taught her the Qur’an, the court heard. Uddin, from Bangladesh, was found by two girls, severely injured. One of the girls recognised him because he taught her the Qur’an, the court heard.
Jurors were told that Syeedy accepts that Kadir murdered Uddin and that he was with his accomplice before and after the killing.Jurors were told that Syeedy accepts that Kadir murdered Uddin and that he was with his accomplice before and after the killing.
However, Greaney told the court that Syeedy will claim he had no idea Kadir was going to attack Uddin before it happened and that he played no part in the murder. He will also claim that he does not support Isis or violent extremism of any type, the court heard.However, Greaney told the court that Syeedy will claim he had no idea Kadir was going to attack Uddin before it happened and that he played no part in the murder. He will also claim that he does not support Isis or violent extremism of any type, the court heard.
Greaney told jurors that Syeedy’s denials were “not true”. He said Syeedy drove his accomplice to the gates of the park “knowing full well that Kadir intended to attack Jalal Uddin so as to kill him or at least cause him really serious harm and that he therefore intentionally assisted and encouraged that attack”. Greaney told jurors that Syeedy’s denials were not true. He said Syeedy drove his accomplice to the gates of the park “knowing full well that Kadir intended to attack Jalal Uddin so as to kill him or at least cause him really serious harm and that he therefore intentionally assisted and encouraged that attack”.
Greaney told the court there was “clear and cogent” evidence that Syeedy and Kadir were supporters of Isis and jihad. Jurors were shown a series of photographs of Syeedy and his friends making “the Isis salute”, raising a single finger to the sky, and carrying a jihadi flag bearing a Kalashnikov rifle or sword. One photograph showed Syeedy and another man holding a jihadi flag outside the Jalalia mosque, where Uddin prayed. Another picture showed Syeedy wearing a stabproof vest outside the mosque.
On Syeedy’s laptop, detectives found a poster saying “Don’t wear Taweez” – an amulet worn around the neck by Uddin and other practitioners of ruqya – and the message: “Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk,” the jury heard. Shirk is a sin of practising idolatry, the jury was told.
A photograph found on Syeedy’s iPhone showed a man holding up a flag emblazoned “Rochdale 2 Syria”, referring to an aid convoy in which the defendant was involved in 2013, the court heard.
Jurors were told that, a day after receiving a picture of Uddin, Syeedy created a photograph on his iPhone showing a child brandishing a knife in front of an Isis flag.
His Facebook account included a quotation from Anwar al-Awlaki, a senior recruiter for al-Qaida until his death in a drone strike in 2011, the court heard.
Syeedy was born and raised in Rochdale, the court heard, and was living with his family at the time of the killing.
“Can there be any doubt that, contrary to the claims we expect the defendant to make in this trial, he had been a supporter of Isis and jihad for a number of years prior to the murder of Jalal Uddin? In other words, he had been radicalised,” Greaney said.