Abu Izzadeen ( ar, أبو عز الدين, ''Abū ‘Izz ad-Dīn''; born Trevor Richard Brooks on 18 April 1975) is a British spokesman for Al Ghurabaa, a British

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

organisation banned under the

Terrorism Act 2006 The Terrorism Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. Th ...

for the glorification of terrorism. He was convicted on charges of terrorist fund-raising and inciting terrorism overseas on 17 April 2008 and sentenced to four and a half years in jail. He was released in May 2009, after serving three and a half years, including time on remand. In January 2016, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment for breaching the Terrorism Act by leaving the UK illegally.

Personal background

Abu Izzadeen is a British citizen born on 18 April 1975 in Hackney, east London, to a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family originally from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. Brooks converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

the day before he turned 18, on 17 April 1993, changing his name to Omar, but preferring to be called Abu Izzadeen. He is fluent in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. He trained and worked for a while as an electrician. He has three children with his wife, Mokhtaria, whom he married in 1998.

Political activities

Abu Izzadeen met

Omar Bakri Muhammed Omar Bakri Muhammad ( ar, عمر بکری محمد; born Omar Bakri Fostock; 1958) is a Syrian Islamist militant leader born in Aleppo. He was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir in the United Kingdom before leaving the group and heading t ...

and

Abu Hamza al-Masri Mustafa Kamel Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى كامل مصطفى; born 15 April 1958), also known as Abu Hamza al-Masri (; , – literally, father of Hamza, the Egyptian), or simply Abu Hamza, is an Egyptian cleric who was the imam of Finsbury Park ...

Finsbury Park Mosque The Finsbury Park Mosque, also known as the North London Central Mosque, is a five-storey mosque located next to Finsbury Park station close to Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium, in the London Borough of Islington. Finsbury Park Mosqu ...

in the 1990s; this is when he is thought to have been radicalised. He visited

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 2001, before the 11 September attacks, as part of Al-Muhajiroun; he said he went there to give a series of lectures. He also said he had attended terror training camps in Afghanistan. He described the 7/7 suicide bombers in London as "completely praiseworthy". On the eve of the anniversary of the 7/7 attacks in London, he was filmed preaching to a group of Muslims in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

mocking and laughing at those who believe in the war on terror and who feel a need to resist Islamic terrorism. He also mocked the courage of journalists who were captured by insurgents. He has openly stated that he wishes to die as a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

. On 20 September 2006, Abu Izzadeen and Anjem Choudary disrupted

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

John Reid's first public meeting with Muslims since his appointment. He called Reid an "enemy" of Islam.

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

interviewed Izzadeen on the edition of 22 September 2006 of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' programme. In a heated discussion Abu Izzadeen stated that his aim was to bring about

Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...

in the UK and that this should be achieved without following the democratic process but rather "in accordance to the Islamic methodology". On 22 March 2017, Izzadeen was incorrectly identified as the perpetrator of the

2017 Westminster attack On 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack took place outside the Palace of Westminster in London, seat of the British Parliament. Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old Briton, drove a car into pedestrians on the pavement along the south side of Westminster ...

by a number of news sources, including ''

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', until it emerged that he was still in prison. This incorrect information was subsequently added to Izzadeen's Wikipedia page, sparking a conflict among editors over whether it should be included. It was removed once and for all eight hours after the attack, after Channel 4 apologized for incorrectly naming Izzadeen as the attack's perpetrator.

Arrests and convictions (2007–15)

British police arrested Abu Izadeen on charges of inciting terrorism on 2 August 2007. A spokesman for

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

said the arrest is related to an "on-going inquiry," involving a speech Abu Izadeen gave in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

area in 2006, which predates 20 September 2006 incident. Izzadeen was arrested again in a pre-dawn police raid on 24 April 2007 under the

Terrorism Act 2000 The Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Emer ...

"in connection with inciting others to commit acts of terrorism overseas and terrorist fundraising". On 17 April 2008, Izzadeen was among six men convicted at Kingston

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

of supporting terrorism, while the jury failed to reach a verdict on a third charge of encouraging terrorism. He was subsequently jailed for three and a half years. On 14 November 2015, Izzadeen and Sulayman Keeler were detained by police in Lőkösháza,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, on a train heading to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, because they were not able to identify themselves. During the time of their detention, on 17 November 2015, a European Arrest Warrant appeared in the

Schengen Information System The Schengen Information System (SIS) is a governmental database maintained by the European Commission. The SIS is used by 31 European countries to find information about individuals and entities for the purposes of national security, border c ...

against both individuals. The two men did not inform the British authorities about leaving the UK despite the court decision ordering them to do so.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izzadeen, Abu 1975 births Living people 21st-century British criminals Alleged al-Qaeda recruiters Converts to Sunni Islam from Christianity British Salafis Criminals from London British Islamists English people of Jamaican descent Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom People imprisoned on charges of terrorism Sunni Islamists British prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales

Personal background

Political activities

Arrests and convictions (2007–15)

See also

References