Sulayman Keeler (born Simon Keeler) is a

Muslim convert Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

and leader of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Islamist organisation. He is a former member of

Al-Muhajiroun Al-Muhajiroun ( ar, المهاجرون, "The Emigrants") is a Proscription, proscribed militant network based in Saudi Arabia. The founder of the group was Omar Bakri Muhammad, a Syrian who previously belonged to ''Hizb ut-Tahrir''; he was not p ...

, a banned organisation designated as a terrorist organisation, and led the Society of Converts to Islam. HSToday report that this is the "first time a white convert has been incarcerated for Islamist terror charges in the UK."'

Background

He has described the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

as "magnificent" and called

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

an "enemy of

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 ...

and

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 ...

s." A court sentenced Keeler to twenty-eight days imprisonment after he assaulted a police officer during a demonstration in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in December 1998. Years later, he was again arrested after he assaulted

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

(BNP) members at a rally. Keeler held a press conference in London on 18 November 2005, formally 'launching' Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. In an interview with

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, Keeler expressed his opposition to democracy, and compared

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

leader

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

, saying, "I don't believe in democracy. It's man made. You're talking about a government that taxes the people to death. It oppresses many millions of people in the world. It wouldn't be such a shame to have them overturned... Tony Blair sends a bunch of aircraft into

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, bombs a bunch of people... Osama Bin Laden, who sends a bunch of aeroplanes into America and bombs a bunch of people - what is the difference? You tell me." On Thursday 17 April 2008, Keeler was one of 6 individuals found guilty of terror related offences, specifically terrorist fundraising. The others found guilty at Kingston Crown Court were Abu Izzadeen, Omar Zaheer, 28, of Southall, west London, Abdul Saleem, 32, of Poplar, east London, and Jalal Hussain. Two others, Ibrahim Abdullah Hussan, 25, from Leyton, east London, and Rajib Kahn, 29, from Luton in Bedfordshire, were released after the jury were unable to decide a verdict
Six guilty of terrorism support - BBC

References

External links

UPDATED: Crawley terrorist caged
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeler, Sulayman Living people Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom Converts to Islam English Islamists English Sunni Muslims Year of birth missing (living people) People imprisoned on charges of terrorism

Background

See also

References

External links