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Sheikh 'waged religious war'
LONDON, England -- A Muslim cleric encouraged his pupils to wage chemical and nuclear war against non-believers as part of an Islamic holy war, a British court was told. Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal preached that the use of chemical and nuclear weapons was justified in order to exterminate "the enemy" and create a worldwide Islamic state, London's Old Bailey court heard on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Prosecutor David Perry said el-Faisal promoted the message of racial hatred, especially against Hindus, Jews and Americans, in tapes distributed through Islamic bookshops across the country. Britain and other European countries were also branded enemies of Islam, the court heard. "It is Islam versus the rest of the world," Perry said. El-Faisal, of Stratford, east London, is charged with five counts of soliciting a person or persons unknown to murder others under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act. The 39-year-old is also charged with two counts of using threatening or abusive words or behaviour to stir up racial hatred in tape recordings. And two charges relating to him possessing and distributing tape recordings containing threatening, abusive or insulting words. He denies all nine charges. Faisal, who converted from teenage Christianity in Jamaica to Islam after studying in Saudi Arabia, preached that any follower who died while taking up arms to fight and murder would be rewarded with martyrdom and would forever live in paradise, Perry said. The tapes were sold under the titles "Jihad," "No Peace with Jews" and "Them Versus Us." El-Faisal faces life in prison if convicted.
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