Abdul Rahman Saleem, (born Rahman Yahyaei) also known as Abu Yahya, is a British-Iranian Islamic activist, born around 1975.

Early life and education

Saleem was born in Mashhad,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1975 to a Punjabi Sunni family. He left

for London in 1979 following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

where he was bullied and discriminated against for his South Asian identity. This provoked his embracement of radical Islam and later he became closely acquainted with Al-Muhajiroun members

Omar Bakri 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 Anjem Choudary. Nonetheless, he excelled in his studies, earning 11 A* Grades at GCSE and 5 A grades at

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

in English literature,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Further Mathematics Further Mathematics is the title given to a number of advanced secondary mathematics courses. The term "Higher and Further Mathematics", and the term "Advanced Level Mathematics", may also refer to any of several advanced mathematics courses at man ...

, Mathematics and

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. Despite this, he opted to attend University in Iran and was granted a placement at

Sharif University of Technology Sharif University of Technology (SUT; fa, دانشگاه صنعتی شریف) is a public research university in Tehran, Iran. It is widely considered as the nation's most prestigious and leading institution for science, technology, engineering ...

to study

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

in 1993. He graduated in 1998 and returned to the United Kingdom the following year.

Career

He is a former Al Muhajiroun spokesman, a former member of the Saved Sect, and was a prominent member of al-Maddad, an organisation that claims to have sent dozens of British Muslims to fight in Chechnya and elsewhere. In August 2001, ...he went to secret camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan and trained in the use of guns and explosives. He lives in Poplar, London. He is the father of five children and works for British Telecom as an engineer."Cartoon protester guilty of race hate"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 2 February 2007 On 18 November 2005 he attended the founding of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. He participated in the Islamist demonstration outside the Danish Embassy in London in 2006, where he chanted "Europe you will pay with your blood" and "Denmark, USA, 7/7 on its way" through a megaphone, and he was charged with using words likely to stir up racial hatred and released on bail to appear at West London Magistrates' Court on 31 March 2006 On 1 February 2007, he was found guilty, and will be held until his sentencing in April. He was found guilty of Incitement to Terrorism Overseas by a unanimous verdict, and found not guilty of Terrorist Fundraising by a majority verdict on 17 April in Kingston Crown Court, for his part on a DVD of the Night of Power, the 27th night of Ramadan in September 2004. He gave a series of speeches at the Regent's Park Mosque, the DVD of which was discovered at the former residence of

in 2006."Muslim preacher Abu Izzadeen jailed for four and a half years"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 18 April 2008 He was sentenced the following day to three years imprisonment.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saleem, Abdul Rahman 1975 births British people of Punjabi descent Living people People from Mashhad British Islamists Iranian emigrants to the United Kingdom