Mick Hartley

From the London-based Arabic daily Asharq Alawsat:

The one thing in common between Abu Qatada, who is currently in jail in Britain, Osama Nasr, who was kidnapped in Rome, and Omar Bakri, who fled London after the 7/7 attacks, is their preference for Western countries over their own native Muslim countries.

Abu Qatada, for instance, prefers to remain in his UK prison than to be extradited to Jordan. Abu Omar Osama al Masri (Osama Nasr), the imam of an Italian mosque who was kidnapped by the CIA and taken to Egypt, is also demanding to be returned to Milan, Italy’s fashion capital, in addition to monetary compensation. The third and probably the most infamous of the three, Omar Bakri, fled London for Lebanon, as the British government was preparing to implement measures against instigators of violence and terrorism. Now, after this period in his native country, he is constantly requesting to be allowed to return to London in spite of government measures and his comments against such measures.

So what prompts these anti-western extremist fundamentalists to flock to western nations ahead of others, and then fight to remain there?…

We never hear of their desire to go to Somalia, Pakistan, or their own home countries, despite all their sermons and literature telling us that our religious duty is to our homelands, and that all others are infidels to the point where some of them have advocated violence against them.

What makes Omar Bakri, who enjoyed the benefits and freedoms of living in Britain, feel compelled to incite hatred against that country and its culture? Is it reasonable for someone like him to request to be allowed to return to Britain after everything he has said and done?…

These individuals unquestionably enjoy the benefits that are afforded to them by the western governments that they hate. They want the financial aid, security, protection, legal justice and freedom of expression that these governments provide.

Doesn’t that constitute extreme hypocrisy? Aren’t they deceiving their followers through the discrepancy between their words and actions?