Radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, whose fiery rhetoric has left him banned from Britain, referred to the suspected terrorists who hacked soldier Lee Rigby to death on a London street as “heroes” who carried out God’s will.
Speaking of Michael Adebolajo, the suspect seen in a video made after the killing with bloodied hands, waving a knife and machete, the cleric told the Daily Mail, “I saw the film and we could see that [the suspect] was being very courageous. Under Islam this can be justified. He was not targeting civilians. He was taking on a military man in an operation. To people around here [Middle East] he is a hero.”
The cleric, speaking from Lebanon, said he knew Adebolajo personally and had converted him to Islam, the Daily Mail reported.
“God destined him to carry out the attack and God destined for the British soldier to die for the cause he believed in,” and Muslims in Lebanon are “proud” of the attack, the cleric said in a separate interview with Reuters.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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