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| Muslims Against Crusades banned by Theresa May | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| By Dominic Casciani Home affairs correspondent | |
| 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 held 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". | 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. | "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. |
| Muslims Against Crusades is the latest incarnation of an organisation originally set up by extremist preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed, who fled the UK six years ago. | |
| Its previous incarnations are all proscribed groups. Most recently, it has been involved in potential stand-offs with the English Defence League and it also protested outside the US Embassy on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. | |
| Anjem Choudary, the leading public figure in the organisation, accused the government of attempting to cover up the truth. | 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. | |
| Individuals can be charged with an offence if police have reasonable suspicion that activities are linked to a banned group. | |
| "I think it is an abject failure of democracy and it is a victory for Sharia Muslims," said Mr Choudary. | "I think it is an abject failure of democracy and it is a victory for Sharia Muslims," said Mr Choudary. |
| In a statement on its website, the organisation had promised a "lack of silence" by British Muslims on Armistice Day. | In a statement on its website, the organisation had promised a "lack of silence" by British Muslims on Armistice Day. |
| It said: "We will be leading the campaign to highlight the atrocities which have been committed and continue to be committed against the Muslims, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, or in the brutal torture concentration camps of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib by the US, UK and their allies." | It said: "We will be leading the campaign to highlight the atrocities which have been committed and continue to be committed against the Muslims, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, or in the brutal torture concentration camps of Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib by the US, UK and their allies." |
| Member fined | Member fined |
| During its 2010 protest, members of the group burned poppies and chanted "British soldiers, burn in hell". | During its 2010 protest, members of the group burned poppies and chanted "British soldiers, burn in hell". |
| One of the group was found guilty of public order offences and fined. The judge in the case described the actions as a "calculated and deliberate insult to the dead and those who mourn or remember them". | One of the group was found guilty of public order offences and fined. The judge in the case described the actions as a "calculated and deliberate insult to the dead and those who mourn or remember them". |
| Julie Siddiqui of the Islamic Society of Britain had been organising a counter-demonstration for Friday. | Julie Siddiqui of the Islamic Society of Britain had been organising a counter-demonstration for Friday. |
| She said: "In one sweep, Muslims Against Crusades display an unspeakable disregard for the feelings and common bond of our countrymen and women, a contempt and rejection of our hard-earned democracy and its institutions, a disdain for the majority of British Muslims - who do not share their views - and a violation of the example of the Prophet Muhammad." | She said: "In one sweep, Muslims Against Crusades display an unspeakable disregard for the feelings and common bond of our countrymen and women, a contempt and rejection of our hard-earned democracy and its institutions, a disdain for the majority of British Muslims - who do not share their views - and a violation of the example of the Prophet Muhammad." |
| Tory MP Mike Freer welcomed the decision to proscribe Muslims Against Crusades. | |
| Last month one of his constituency meetings, being held in a mosque, was disrupted by Muslims Against Crusades. | |
| He was moved for his safety to a locked part of the building while its management waited for police to arrive. MAC later denied threatening Mr Freer. | |
| Mr Freer said: "What we must also do is ensure that any new incarnation of this group continues to be monitored because past history tells us that this group does reform, rename and reappear." |