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Muslims Against Crusades banned from midnight | Muslims Against Crusades banned from midnight |
(40 minutes later) | |
Home Secretary Theresa May is banning Muslims Against Crusades, a group planning an anti-Armistice Day protest. | Home Secretary Theresa May is banning Muslims Against Crusades, a group planning an anti-Armistice Day protest. |
The organisation had planned to repeat a demonstration seen last year, when members burned poppies near to London's Albert Hall. | The organisation had planned to repeat a demonstration seen last year, when members burned poppies near to London's Albert Hall. |
Mrs May's order, which comes into force at midnight, makes membership or support of the group a criminal offence. | Mrs May's order, which comes into force at midnight, makes membership or support of the group a criminal offence. |
The organisation is closely linked to a host of other previously-banned groups. | The organisation is closely linked to a host of other previously-banned groups. |
Mrs May said she was satisfied that Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) was "simply another name for an organisation already proscribed under a number of names". | |
"The organisation was proscribed in 2006 for glorifying terrorism and we are clear it should not be able to continue these activities by simply changing its name," she said. | |
'Failure of democracy' | |
Muslims Against Crusades is the latest incarnation of the organisation originally set up by extremist preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed, who fled the UK six years ago. | |
Its previous incarnations, Al Ghurabaa, The Saved Sect, Al Muhajiroun and Islam4UK are all proscribed groups. | |
Anjem Choudary, the leading public figure in the organisation, accused the government of attempting to cover up the truth. | |
But he said he no longer knew whether the planned "Hell for Heroes" demonstration would happen. Anyone who joined the demonstration as a member or supporter of MAC could face up to 10 years in jail. | |
"I think it is an abject failure of democracy and it is a victory for Sharia Muslims," said Mr Choudary. |