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Radical cleric praised 9/11, bin Laden

From Paula Hancocks
CNN Correspondent

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri is perhaps the most high-profile radical Islamic figure in Britain.

A one-time nightclub bouncer in London's Soho district, al-Masri lost both hands and one eye working in Afghanistan. He often wore a hook in place of one hand.

Both non-Muslims and Muslims condemned his preachings.

"Abu Hamza's views have damaged the inter-community relationships and damaged the reputation of the Muslim community as extremist which this community denies," says Mufti Abdulqadir Barkatullah, a former trustee of the Finsbury Park Mosque where Hamza preached. "We are not at all extremist."

In January 2003, police raided the north London mosque. After he was banned from there, al-Masri led Friday prayers on the street outside the mosque.

It is widely reported that failed shoe-bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, an alleged plotter of the September 11, 2001 attacks, attended sermons there.

Among al-Masri's comments:

Calling the September 11 attacks "a towering day in history."

Saying Osama bin Laden is "a good guy and a hero."

And describing the Columbia space shuttle disaster in 2003 as "punishment from Allah" because the astronauts were Christian, Hindu and Jewish.

U.S. authorities tried to extradite al-Masri in 2004. Then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft wanted him on 11 charges, including conspiracy in connection with a 1998 kidnapping in Yemen and allegations he tried to set up a terror training camp in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Al-Masri denies all -- but does not shy away from voicing disdain for America.

"America does not need allies any more, it only needs slaves," he said in London on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The U.S. extradition request was put on hold while Britain tried al-Masri. On Tuesday, a London jury found him guilty on several charges, including inciting murder and inciting racial hatred. (Full story)

Author Neil Doyle, who helped analyze recordings of al-Masri's preachings on the Internet, said: "He's probably a bit more strident in private on the tapes than he was in public.

"You got the impression of somebody who was very committed to their cause, somebody who was committed to violence, in achieving their aims and convincing others to do the same."

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