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| Police search Rochdale councillor's home after son's arrest on Syrian border | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Police have searched the home of a Labour councillor whose son is one of nine Britons – including four children – detained in Turkey on suspicion of trying to cross the border into Syria. | Police have searched the home of a Labour councillor whose son is one of nine Britons – including four children – detained in Turkey on suspicion of trying to cross the border into Syria. |
| Officers were on Friday at the address of Shakil Ahmed, who represents the Kingsway ward on Rochdale borough council, and whose son, Waheed, is among those being returned to the UK after being stopped in Hatay province on Wednesday. | Officers were on Friday at the address of Shakil Ahmed, who represents the Kingsway ward on Rochdale borough council, and whose son, Waheed, is among those being returned to the UK after being stopped in Hatay province on Wednesday. |
| The group includes two women aged 47 and 22, three men, aged 21, 22 and 24, and children aged one, three, eight and 11. Among those detained in Turkey are said to be Waheed’s aunt, Zadia Bi, two of her sons, and one of the son’s wives. | The group includes two women aged 47 and 22, three men, aged 21, 22 and 24, and children aged one, three, eight and 11. Among those detained in Turkey are said to be Waheed’s aunt, Zadia Bi, two of her sons, and one of the son’s wives. |
| Greater Manchester police confirmed they were searching four addresses: two in Rochdale and two in nearby Heywood. Officers are trying to establish the reason for the group travelling to the Syrian border. | Greater Manchester police confirmed they were searching four addresses: two in Rochdale and two in nearby Heywood. Officers are trying to establish the reason for the group travelling to the Syrian border. |
| Ahmed told the Daily Mail the group was on holiday. “All I know is that they were on holiday and then the next thing I am told is that they have been arrested,” he was quoted as saying. | Ahmed told the Daily Mail the group was on holiday. “All I know is that they were on holiday and then the next thing I am told is that they have been arrested,” he was quoted as saying. |
| In an earlier statement, Ahmed said he thought his son, who is studying for a degree in politics and sociology at the University of Manchester, was on a work placement in Birmingham. He was “shocked, worried and extremely upset” to hear of the arrests on the Turkey-Syria border. He added: “My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don’t understand what he’s doing there. If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.” | In an earlier statement, Ahmed said he thought his son, who is studying for a degree in politics and sociology at the University of Manchester, was on a work placement in Birmingham. He was “shocked, worried and extremely upset” to hear of the arrests on the Turkey-Syria border. He added: “My son is a good Muslim and his loyalties belong to Britain, so I don’t understand what he’s doing there. If I thought for a second that he was in danger of being radicalised, I would have reported him to the authorities.” |
| Asst Ch Con Ian Wiggett said: “What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone. Such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever.” | Asst Ch Con Ian Wiggett said: “What is obviously concerning is why a family were seemingly attempting to take very young and vulnerable children into a warzone. Such a volatile and dangerous environment is no place for them whatsoever.” |
| The Foreign Office was not able to confirm when the group members, who are all related, would return to the UK. | The Foreign Office was not able to confirm when the group members, who are all related, would return to the UK. |
| Usman Nawaz, who went to the same Rochdale school as Waheed Ahmed, said he did not think his former school could be blamed. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t believe the school necessarily has anything to do with the path he has taken now. I’m of that same generation of young British Muslims; I’m 25 and I have not been radicalised,” said Nawaz, who is a former member of a panel called the Young Muslims Advisory Group, and a mentor to young Muslims through the Youth Council of Rochdale. | Usman Nawaz, who went to the same Rochdale school as Waheed Ahmed, said he did not think his former school could be blamed. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t believe the school necessarily has anything to do with the path he has taken now. I’m of that same generation of young British Muslims; I’m 25 and I have not been radicalised,” said Nawaz, who is a former member of a panel called the Young Muslims Advisory Group, and a mentor to young Muslims through the Youth Council of Rochdale. |
| He added that the “constant drip-feeding of British Muslims from this country” into Islamic State needed to be addressed. “For some it’s an adventure but for some they think that they are doing something noble. The ideology which is pedalled, this very hardcore understanding of the faith, one which is state-sponsored by Saudi Arabia, that has to be challenged, and it’s quite difficult to challenge it in a coherent manner when the Saudi ideology has the backing of petrodollars. | He added that the “constant drip-feeding of British Muslims from this country” into Islamic State needed to be addressed. “For some it’s an adventure but for some they think that they are doing something noble. The ideology which is pedalled, this very hardcore understanding of the faith, one which is state-sponsored by Saudi Arabia, that has to be challenged, and it’s quite difficult to challenge it in a coherent manner when the Saudi ideology has the backing of petrodollars. |
| “There are mosques in this country which are funded with petrodollars. However, mosques in Rochdale, from what I understand, don’t have a problem of radicalisation and extremism.” | “There are mosques in this country which are funded with petrodollars. However, mosques in Rochdale, from what I understand, don’t have a problem of radicalisation and extremism.” |
| Iman Irfan Chishti of the Rochdale Council of Mosques said: “We are shocked to hear this has happened in our town. Rochdale has had its fair share of negative publicity of late, given the grooming issue, and this is the last thing we need.” | Iman Irfan Chishti of the Rochdale Council of Mosques said: “We are shocked to hear this has happened in our town. Rochdale has had its fair share of negative publicity of late, given the grooming issue, and this is the last thing we need.” |
| Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: “The news that nine people from Rochdale, including children, have been arrested in Turkey trying to get into Syria is deeply worrying. The idea you can take young children into a warzone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this.” | Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: “The news that nine people from Rochdale, including children, have been arrested in Turkey trying to get into Syria is deeply worrying. The idea you can take young children into a warzone is despicable and we condemn those adults who have done this.” |