Blunders that let 21/7 bombers roam the streets
By Philip Johnston and Peter Foster, South Asia Correspondent
A global Islamic missionary group has emerged as a key influence on terrorists targeting Britain.
Tablighi Jamaat, a powerful, grass-roots religious organisation based in South Asia, is a common link to a string of attacks and conspiracies.
One of the four men convicted this week of attempting to carry out suicide bombings on the London transport system attended a mosque run by Tablighi.
The group has been linked to two of the suspects, both from India, arrested for last week’s failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.
Tablighi has its European headquarters in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, where Shehzad Tanweer, one of the July 7 suicide bombers, attended classes after dropping out of university. Mohammed Sidique Khan, the leader of the July 7 cell, went to the Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury. A number of those suspected of involvement in last summer’s alleged airline plot are believed to have been regular attendees at Tablighi meetings.Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber”, and John Walker Lindh, who became known as the “American Taliban” after being discovered during the US-led military action in Afghanistan in 2001, are also said to have had connections.
The group has a reputation for peaceful missionary work, going out to mosques to emphasise a reliance on the basic teachings of the Koran.
But it is increasingly being associated with radicalising young Muslims.
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