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| Former Manchester United steward guilty of murdering imam | Former Manchester United steward guilty of murdering imam |
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| A former Manchester United steward has been found guilty of murdering a respected imam in an Islamic State-inspired attack in Greater Manchester. | A former Manchester United steward has been found guilty of murdering a respected imam in an Islamic State-inspired attack in Greater Manchester. |
| Mohammed Syeedy, 21, was convicted with a unanimous verdict of helping to kill Jalal Uddin, 71, because he practised a form of Islamic spiritual healing considered to be “black magic” by some extremists. | |
| On hearing the jury’s verdict Syeedy put his head in his hands and shook his head in disbelief. In the public gallery, his family gasped and sobbed. | |
| The judge, Sir David Maddison, told him he would be sentenced later on Friday. He faces a maximum of life imprisonment for religiously motivated murder. Uddin’s family, who travelled from Bangladesh to attend every day of the three-week trial, hugged and sobbed after Syeedy was led away. | |
| The murder has alarmed counter-terrorism experts who fear that homegrown extremists are increasingly targeting fellow Muslims they view as heretics. | |
| Uddin was bludgeoned to death with a hammer as he made his way home from a mosque in Rochdale on 18 February. He was attacked with repeated, forceful blows from behind after months under surveillance by his killers, the trial at Manchester crown court heard. | Uddin was bludgeoned to death with a hammer as he made his way home from a mosque in Rochdale on 18 February. He was attacked with repeated, forceful blows from behind after months under surveillance by his killers, the trial at Manchester crown court heard. |
| Jurors were told that Syeedy and his accomplice, Mohammed Abdul Kadir, stalked Uddin around the streets of Rochdale before Kadir launched the savage attack on the older man in a children’s playground. | Jurors were told that Syeedy and his accomplice, Mohammed Abdul Kadir, stalked Uddin around the streets of Rochdale before Kadir launched the savage attack on the older man in a children’s playground. |
| Syeedy, the getaway driver, denied knowing about the murder plot. | Syeedy, the getaway driver, denied knowing about the murder plot. |
| Kadir, a former John Lewis call-centre worker, was not on trial because he fled to Istanbul, Turkey, three days after the murder. Counter-terrorism detectives are hunting for the 24-year-old but believe he may have slipped across the border and joined Isis in Syria. | Kadir, a former John Lewis call-centre worker, was not on trial because he fled to Istanbul, Turkey, three days after the murder. Counter-terrorism detectives are hunting for the 24-year-old but believe he may have slipped across the border and joined Isis in Syria. |
| Syeedy and Kadir, from Rochdale and Oldham respectively, developed a hatred of Uddin last summer after discovering he practised a form of Islamic healing called taweez, the court heard. | Syeedy and Kadir, from Rochdale and Oldham respectively, developed a hatred of Uddin last summer after discovering he practised a form of Islamic healing called taweez, the court heard. |
| Uddin moved to Rochdale 15 years ago from Bangladesh. The former imam was well known in the area for his use of healing amulets to cure ill health and to protect people from evil spirits. | Uddin moved to Rochdale 15 years ago from Bangladesh. The former imam was well known in the area for his use of healing amulets to cure ill health and to protect people from evil spirits. |
| Jurors were told that Syeedy and Kadir, who were not known to the police, believed Uddin’s use of taweez was “black magic” and that he deserved to be killed. | Jurors were told that Syeedy and Kadir, who were not known to the police, believed Uddin’s use of taweez was “black magic” and that he deserved to be killed. |
| Uddin, known as the Qari Saab by his followers for his deep understanding of the Qur’an, was mocked as a magician by Syeedy and his friends, who nicknamed him Voldemort after the evil wizard in the Harry Potter books. | Uddin, known as the Qari Saab by his followers for his deep understanding of the Qur’an, was mocked as a magician by Syeedy and his friends, who nicknamed him Voldemort after the evil wizard in the Harry Potter books. |
| Six months before the murder, Syeedy and his friends destroyed Uddin’s notes and books on taweez after stealing them from their local mosque. | Six months before the murder, Syeedy and his friends destroyed Uddin’s notes and books on taweez after stealing them from their local mosque. |
| They then set about monitoring Uddin’s whereabouts – taking covert pictures of him in the street – as they plotted to have the community leader deported by immigration services. | They then set about monitoring Uddin’s whereabouts – taking covert pictures of him in the street – as they plotted to have the community leader deported by immigration services. |
| But that plan was abandoned after a photograph emerged of Uddin with the Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, outside the Jalalia mosque in December last year. One of Syeedy’s friends shared the photograph and commented: “Oh crap ... voldermort nvr gna b busted by immigration now.” | But that plan was abandoned after a photograph emerged of Uddin with the Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, outside the Jalalia mosque in December last year. One of Syeedy’s friends shared the photograph and commented: “Oh crap ... voldermort nvr gna b busted by immigration now.” |
| When detectives arrested Syeedy five days after the murder, they found gruesome footage of Uddin dying on the 21-year-old’s mobile phone along with reams of Isis propaganda. | When detectives arrested Syeedy five days after the murder, they found gruesome footage of Uddin dying on the 21-year-old’s mobile phone along with reams of Isis propaganda. |
| Jurors were shown photographs of Syeedy holding an Isis-style flag outside the Jalalia mosque where his victim was the former imam. In another image he wore a stab-proof vest outside the mosque. | Jurors were shown photographs of Syeedy holding an Isis-style flag outside the Jalalia mosque where his victim was the former imam. In another image he wore a stab-proof vest outside the mosque. |
| Other photographs showed Syeedy and two others holding a jihadi flag over a road sign in Rochdale that had been altered to read: “War Zone.” | Other photographs showed Syeedy and two others holding a jihadi flag over a road sign in Rochdale that had been altered to read: “War Zone.” |
| Detectives also found a black, Isis-style baseball cap, arm patches and a flag in Syeedy’s home in Rochdale, where he lived with his mother, younger sister and younger brother. | |
| Paul Greaney QC, prosecuting, told the court that Syeedy became drawn in by Isis propaganda surrounding the Syrian war over a period of three years. | |
| In 2013, he travelled to Syria on a medical aid convoy around the same time Alan Henning, the murdered Salford taxi driver, went on a similar “Rochdale 2 Syria” trip, the trial heard. | In 2013, he travelled to Syria on a medical aid convoy around the same time Alan Henning, the murdered Salford taxi driver, went on a similar “Rochdale 2 Syria” trip, the trial heard. |
| Syeedy told the court he was friendly with Henning and was “disgusted” when he heard the 47-year-old had been beheaded by an Isis militant known as Jihadi John, unmasked last year as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi. | Syeedy told the court he was friendly with Henning and was “disgusted” when he heard the 47-year-old had been beheaded by an Isis militant known as Jihadi John, unmasked last year as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi. |
| Giving evidence, Syeedy denied knowing anything about Uddin’s murder but admitted he was with Kadir before and after the attack. | Giving evidence, Syeedy denied knowing anything about Uddin’s murder but admitted he was with Kadir before and after the attack. |
| He said he never suspected his friend – whom he knew was an Isis sympathiser – had killed Uddin even though the former imam was found dead moments after Kadir left the playground. | He said he never suspected his friend – whom he knew was an Isis sympathiser – had killed Uddin even though the former imam was found dead moments after Kadir left the playground. |
| The former Old Trafford steward, an electrical engineering student who dropped out of university, denied being an Isis supporter and described the group’s actions as “completely wrong”. | The former Old Trafford steward, an electrical engineering student who dropped out of university, denied being an Isis supporter and described the group’s actions as “completely wrong”. |
| He told jurors he did not agree with Uddin’s use of taweez because it was dangerous to meddle with the supernatural world – but that it was up to God to deliver the punishment. “This is my country, I abide by the laws,” he told the jury. | He told jurors he did not agree with Uddin’s use of taweez because it was dangerous to meddle with the supernatural world – but that it was up to God to deliver the punishment. “This is my country, I abide by the laws,” he told the jury. |