Anjem Choudary: A History Of Hatred That Finally Ended With Jail

After years of controversial remarks that have seen calls for his arrest, Anjem Choudary - the most recognisable face of radical Islam in Britain - now finally faces a spell behind bars.

The 49-year-old former lawyer has spent the nearly half his life calling for Britain to become an Islamic state, praising terrorists along the way and calling for Shariah Law.

But he has managed to avoid being jailed before now, just treading the fine line between free speech and inciting or encouraging violence and hatred.

Now, however, police and the courts have decided that he has stepped over that line and he has been convicted of terror offences that could see him behind bars for a decade.

Islamism: Anjou Choudary set up with al-Muhajiroun group (Rex)

But how did this divisive figure, who purposefully tried to drive a wedge between Britain’s muslims and the rest of the country, manage to stay free for so long?

Born in London, Choudary went on to become a medical student at the University of Southampton, where pictures of him drinking and partying show off a very different side to the persona we now know.

Responding to the party animal claims and pictures of him surrounded by alcohol, he said: “I admit I wasn’t always practising. I committed many mistakes in my life.”

After switching professions - and finding God - and qualifying to become a lawyer, Choudary became an advocate for human rights and race discrimination.

Becoming a proud supporter of Islamism, Choudary went on to set up al-Muhajiroun with Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Mohammed after the pair met at a local mosque.

From then on, Choudary and controversy went hand in hand, as al-Muhajiroun began calling for Islamic laws to be introduced to Britain, whilst pushing the extreme ideology of the group at the same time.

Divisive: The 49-year-old has called on Shariah Law in Britain (Rex)

He once told followers in a speech: “Next time when your child is at school and the teacher says ‘What do you want when you grow up? What is your ambition?’, they should say 'To dominate the whole world by Islam, including Britain - that is my ambition’.”

Al-Muhajiroun began setting up market stalls across the country in an attempt of radicalise young Muslims in an attempt to encourage them to go abroad and fight.

The group’s notoriety began to spread and they hit the headlines after 9/11 in 2001 when Bakri Mohammed organised a seminar at the Finsbury Park Mosque called September 11 2001: A Towering Day in History.

Choudary was in attendance at the seminar, where the hijackers of the planes were described as the “Magnificent 19”.

From then on, his public statements became more controversial, including ones surround the 7/7 bombings on London’s transport network where, while not explicitly supporting the terrorists, Choudary nonetheless refused to condemn them.

And this is how his legal training helped him avoid arrest by just balancing on the right side of the law - particularly the ever-changing terrorism legislation.

Influence: Lee Rigby killer Michael Adebolajo has links to Choudary (Rex)

Charming and persuasive, Choudary and his group were cited as a major influence for British jihadists.

Various plots uncovered have links to the now outlawed al-Muhajiroun, including the Lee Rigby murder in May 2013.

Footage emerged of one of the killers - Michael Adebolajo - standing directly behind Choudary at a Muslims Against Crusades protest in London in 2007.

Once again, Choudary refused to condemn the murder without directly supporting it and blamed the pair’s actions on British foreign policy.

Throughout the years he has called for a global Islamic state that is run under Sharia Law - and in 2014 this began to take shape in Iraq and Syria when militants violently declared themselves the Islamic State - or ISIS.

However - and somewhat ironically - this would be the catalyst that eventually led to his arrest and conviction for terror offences.

Speaking at lectures to impressionable youths, Choudary publicly backed ISIS and its aims, believing once again that he was not breaking the law as he was merely backing the political concept rather than the terrorists who controlled it.

Terrorists: Choudary was charged with encouraging support for ISIS (Rex)

But some of his followers were not quite as nuanced in their views and they left Britain to travel to Syria to join and fight for the terrorist network.

After extensive research, police decided that they could charge Choudary with inviting others to support the actual Islamic State group - rather than a more general idea of an Islamic state.

This was vital for proving his support for a terrorist group, alongside an oath of allegiance to the group’s leader.

At his trial, it was revealed that suspected IS executioner Siddhartha Dhar, British suicide bomber Omar Sharif, and Brusthom Ziamani, who plotted to kill on the streets of London, were all supporters.

Convicted: Choudary now faces a potential 10 years behind bars (Rex)

Now Choudary - along with his associate Mohammed Mizanur Rahman - has finally been convicted and faces the next 10 years in a prison cell.

Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met Police’s counter-terrorism unit, said: ”These men have stayed just within the law for many years, but there is no-one within the counter-terrorism world that has any doubts of the influence that they have had, the hate they have spread and the people that they have encouraged to join terrorist organisations.

"Over and over again we have seen people on trial for the most serious offences who have attended lectures or speeches given by these men.

"The oath of allegiance was a turning point for the police - at last we had the evidence that they had stepped over the line and we could prove they supported ISIS.”

Choudary will be sentenced in September.

Top pic: Rex