Anjem Choudary

Anjem Choudary in 2011. Clearly a sucker for little hats (though likely not a member of the green berets).

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“”I also believe firmly in the concept of Izhar ud-Deen i.e. the domination of the world by Islam... I believe that one day Britain and indeed every part of the world (including the rest of Europe, USA, China and Russia etc…) will be governed by and under the authority of the Muslims implementing Islamic Law. This is something that I believe in and strive to see Insha’Allah.

—Anjem Choudary

Anjem Choudary (born 1967) is a Pakistani British Muslim looney, terrorist, and convicted criminal who, to the embarrassment of its population, lives in Britain. He studied law, becoming chairman of the Society of Muslim Lawyers until his removal from the role in 2002.

In 2015, Choudary was charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 with inviting support for the Islamic State and was convicted in July 2016. In September 2016, he was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. He was released after just two years. Choudary was arrested again in 2023 and convicted of leading a terrorist organisation, and on July 30, 2024, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Organisations

He has been aligned with a number of radical Islamic groups. In the late nineties, he co-founded al-Muhajiroun, an organisation that was later banned under anti-terrorist legislation in 2004; he was also associated with al-Ghurabaa, which was banned by John Reid in 2006. After this, he led Islam4UK, which was banned in 2010; the Government decided at this time that the group, along with al-Muhajiroun, al-Ghurabaa, and several other organisations (Call to Submission, Islamic Path, London School of Sharia, and the Saved Sect) should be treated as the same group under different names. He became involved with Muslims Against Crusades until that too was banned.

Views and activities

Choudary has been a proponent of implementing Sharia in the Western world, mainly focusing on Britain and the U.S., with the usual idiocy that entails.

In 2011, he announced a rally at the White House, but it was cancelled. He also announced plans to protest at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, but cancelled those plans as well. He planned to protest against the burqa ban in France, but was barred from entering the country.

Choudary was a supporter of Osama bin Laden; commenting on the deaths that occured on 9/11 (the perpetrators of which he describes as "magnificent martyrs"), Choudary argues that the American army has also killed people, which he appears to believe justifies the atrocity. In response to the killing of bin Laden in May 2011, Choudary organised a protest at the US Embassy in London; attendees held placards with slogans such as "Islam will dominate the world". He called on the US to return the remains of bin Laden to the deceased terrorist's relatives (think they'd really want them? He must be pretty damp by now, not to mention smelly...).

He has also apparently called for the assassination of the Pope.

Media appearances

Choudary often popped up as a talking head on British TV and radio, appearing on Channel 4's 4thought strand, BBC Radio 4's The Report and more than once on BBC's Newsnight. This is rather curious, considering that a sizable controversy surrounded the episode of Question Time featuring BNP leader Nick Griffin, a man no more nutty than Choudary.

Despite a dislike for the BBC, Choudary will occasionally be invited onto talk shows to discuss events involving Muslim extremism. Predictably, after these appearances, everyone calls for him to be jailed before people remember that no-one cares what he thinks and goes back to watching Downton Abbey.

Presumably because the UK has become bored with him by now, Choudary has also made appearances on American news stations, including CNN and Fox News. In the case of the latter, he is useful to Fox to act as a stereotype of all Muslims. However, it led to the only recorded occasion of Sean Hannity stating a fact.

Life before wingnuttery

In 2010, images of Choudary during his time as a law student surfaced. At the time, Andy Choudary was fond of drugs, sex, beer, porn without models wearing burqas, and various other insults to Allah.

Presumably, his deity has forgiven him because none of the pictures depict him with a bacon sandwich and/or engaging in gay sex with a minimum of four witnesses. Oh, and chocolate milkshakes are a-okay.

Links to terrorism

Choudary has a long history of involvement with Islamic terrorism. As mentioned above, the organisation he co-founded as well as many others he was involved with have been officially designated as terror groups. Choudary was a personal friend of multiple confirmed jihadists, including the perpetrator of the 2019 London Bridge stabbing, one of the murderers of Lee Rigby, and a literal ISIS propagandist named Siddhartha Dhar. When a group of al-Qaeda sympathisers were caught plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange, at least six of them were directly linked to Choudary. One police officer who helped investigate the infamous 7/7 attacks reportedly said that Choudary was connected to every Muslim terror plot he had ever researched prior to 2024.

Self-describing as a "jihad seeker", Choudary is credited with radicalising dozens of British Muslims into extremism, including suicide bombers. He has openly boasted of being Britain's "number one radicaliser" and described himself as a fanatic.

Convictions

Choudary and another man were arrested in 2015 for a series of online lectures in which they publicly praised and swore allegiance to Islamic State. Both men were found guilty of "inviting support for a proscribed organisation", made illegal by section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Choudary was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, but did not serve the full sentence.

In 2023, an investigation by British, American and Canadian police found that the long-banned al-Muhajiroun was still recruiting in secret with Choudary as leader, under the alias "Islamic Thinkers' Society". Choudary was said to be the group's interim leader after the original leader Omar Bakri Muhammad was arrested in Lebanon. Choudary and one of his followers were arrested on July 17 2023 and Choudary was charged with directing terrorism, of which he was convicted in July 2024. A week after his trial, he received a life sentence at the age of 57, and will not be eligible for parole until 2052.