World

Senior Glasgow imam praises Mumtaz Qadri

Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman says he is 'disturbed' and 'upset' at news of Qadri's execution

News Desk March 26, 2016

PHOTO: BBC

The senior imam at Scotland's biggest mosque has praised Mumtaz Qadri who was executed last month for killing former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer.

Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman of Glasgow Central Mosque used the popular messaging platform, WhatsApp, to show his support for Qadri.

Qadri, a former police bodyguard, shot Taseer 28 times in an upscale market in Islamabad in 2011. He later admitted the killing, saying he objected to the politician’s calls to reform controversial blasphemy laws — a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan.

Salman Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri executed

In messages seen by the BBC, Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman said that he is 'disturbed' and 'upset' at the news of Qadri's execution, before writing, "Rahmatullahi alai", a religious blessing usually given to devout Muslims and meaning may God's mercy be upon him.

In another message he said, "I cannot hide my pain today. A true Muslim was punished for doing which [sic] the collective will of the nation failed to carry out."

However, the imam said the messages had been taken out of context and that he was expressing his opposition to capital punishment.

As the most senior imam at Glasgow Central Mosque, Maulana Habib Ur Rehman plays the important role of leading prayers and giving religious guidance and teachings. It was confirmed by the BBC that the messages came from the imam himself.

Pakistan on alert as Salmaan Taseer's killer hanged

Many took to Twitter appalled by the imam's sentiments towards Qadri.

Appalling: Imam at Scotland's largest mosque praises executed Muslim terrorist https://t.co/hJ0svXoIRC #Pakistan #MumtazQadri #SalmaanTaseer
— WestminsterInstitute (@Westminster_Ins) March 25, 2016

#Scotland: Largest mosque's Imam praised #MumtazQadri, assassin of Pak's Punjab province governor, Salmaan Taseer. https://t.co/I3V3lsNvWN
— Mary Magdalen (@Gr8LakesCzarina) March 25, 2016

Glasgow Imam praises killer Qadri by saying he "could not hide his pain" over the execution of Mumtaz Qadri https://t.co/gNY1Tmd0hP
— Manzoor Chandio منظور چانڊيو (@manzoor_chandio) March 25, 2016

Imam of of Glasgow Central Mosque praises Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistani bodyguard who killed Salman Taseer https://t.co/vML4Rrii7j
— Sen McGlinn (@senmcglinn) March 25, 2016

Mumtaz Qadri was a cold blooded killer not a 'national hero' no excuse 4 anyone 2 'praise' him let alone an Imam https://t.co/i7mqzMC3l1
— Darya Khan Hisbani (@Hisbani_DK) March 25, 2016

Not Only in #Pakistan, It's world wide Now..

Glasgow mosque leader praises #MumtazQadri https://t.co/t33W0V1gC7 https://t.co/OppJxnmDPh
— IMRAN ASHNA (@muhemran) March 25, 2016

Scotland mosque leader's praise for Mumtaz Qadri raises eyebrows https://t.co/3RrBj1YMoL
— Mohammad Ilyas Khan (@MohammadIlyasKh) March 25, 2016

https://twitter.com/rexmaxington/status/713498467977400320

Qadri was hanged on February 29 in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. Qadri, a former police commando, assassinated Taseer in Islamabad’s Kohsar Market on January 4, 2011 for his support to a blasphemy accused. An Anti-Terrorism Court convicted and condemned him to death – a ruling also upheld by the Islamabad High Court and Supreme Court.

This article originally appeared on BBC.

COMMENTS (22)

ishtiaq | 8 years ago | Reply He has the right to have his opinion, however he should not be allowed to use his position as Imam to air his stupid opinion.,

Anomic | 8 years ago | Reply Oh please stop affording respect and legitimacy by calling this ignorant thug "Imam" and "Maulana." He is a hate mongering, blood thirsty criminal who should be charged with a hate crime and be afforded hospitality as HM's permanent host at HMP Belmarsh.

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OSD | 8 years ago | Reply Check his passport. He is the problem of British govt, not ours.

Jawad U Rahman | 8 years ago | Reply Pakistan should seek extradition of this lunatic Imam, and try him under NAP.

Alex | 8 years ago | Reply There could not be a better example of what the real problem seems to be... A fish starts to rot from the head down as they say. It's the so called Islamic leaders that incite hatred and provide the basis for extremism. Too many preach hatred and too few hold against it. If time and time again Islamic leaders would condem extremism and would encourage their congregations to act with tolerance and kindness, if they would call their black sheep out and act stronger against their misguided brothers, a lot could be done. Or maybe they feel they can't because the extremists apply a different but yet valid interpretation to the Islamic teachings? Why is a dim nut job being arrested for offensive tweets about allegedly confronting a Muslim woman about Brussels but Habib ur Rehman can preach his spite and unconstitutional ideas publicly? This is appeasement of the worst kind and sets a wrong signal. Coming to think about it, Christian preachers haven't really gone out of their way either to preach tolerance and love. It just shows that societal progress, tolerance and peace don't go with religion. Only education does.

Babbarsher Khan | 8 years ago | Reply The Senior Mullah with this level of intellect, one could safely imagine where his juniors stand; they are waiting for their turn to be admitted into al-Baghdadi's"army of the faithfuls".

Naveed | 8 years ago | Reply There are only two solutions,either this stupid Imam is thrown out or people stop going to this mosque

Parvez | 8 years ago | Reply IF according to the local law he has committed an offense he should be charged and tried.......but it seems he will take refuge under the right to free speech or some such law. It's apparent that when the liberal laws of a country are ' abused ' ( as is the case here ), it is time for that country to amend the laws, for their own well being.

Zaida Parvez | 8 years ago | Reply Maybe the food is to blame. Complete madness has overtaken the community!

Zahid Jamil | 8 years ago | Reply UK Terrorism Act 2006 s.1 Offence of Encouragement: "a) glorifies the commission or preparation (whether in the past, in the future or generally) of such acts or offences;" Similar to 11W of Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act (2001 amendments)

Ambreen | 8 years ago | Reply This man should be charged, sentenced, put behind bars and possibly kept there for a long time. Deporting him back to his home country will only allow him to spread his poison elsewhere. Why is the British government not taking notice of this?

A-No.1 | 8 years ago | Reply Another example of an illiterate bigot. Please deport him. I will pay for his deportation petition.

Ch. K. A. Nye | 8 years ago | Reply @yamuri: what a silly comment. Nobody needs to pay these people to spew out this sort of thing. They do it all the time free of charge.

s chaudhury | 8 years ago | Reply This man is terrorest's friend & he should be deported from this country I am a muslim & do not want these people to stay in this country. They are danger to the society as a whole.

real truth | 8 years ago | Reply Indeed appalling! How This imam should be in jail.

Ch. Allah Daad | 8 years ago | Reply This garbage has destroyed entire generation of British Pakistanis and other Muslims.

Kamal Pasha | 8 years ago | Reply Qadari murdered the governor of Punjab. He was arrested and confessed crime. After the court proceedings and appeals, he was sentenced and hanged. What this Moulana of Scotland want that this murderer should have been released?

yamuri | 8 years ago | Reply How much did he get paid by the Britishers to say this rubbish?? Please also elaborate.

Tara | 8 years ago | Reply If Europe does not deal with these people with a firm hand, Brussels and Paris would be made to look like a sideshow.

amir | 8 years ago | Reply Soon to be deported back to his roots...

NKAli | 8 years ago | Reply The UK govt must take note of this imam and caution him not to make ridiculous statements. Salams

Adnan Qureshi | 8 years ago | Reply Sadly it has turned into a violent ideology. You can't blame the youth when these Imams preach violence.

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