A V7 Think Tank Report

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V7 Intelligence Report

Written by Adrian Morgan

July 2008

This month, the annual British event known as "Islam Expo" came to a close. In 2006, this "celebration" of Islamic heritage and identity gathered criticism as the event - then held in Alexandra Palace in North London - took place while relatives were commemorating the first anniversary of the 7/7 attacks. Additionally, some of the proposed speakers at that 2006 event were known to hold extremist views.

One of these individuals was Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami party, who had praised Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda members. "Qazi Hussain Ahmed, though invited, did not attend the 2006 Islam Expo event due to political engagements.

A speaker who did attend the 2006 event was Azzam Tamimi, who is a spokesperson for theMuslim Association of Britain (MAB). The MAB was co-founded in 1997 by a senior figure within the international Muslim Brotherhood - Kemal el-Helbawy.

Between 2000 and 2004, Tamimi was a senior lecturer at the Markfield Institute in Leicester. This institute was founded in 1973 by Kurshid Ahmad, who is now the vice-president of the Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami party. The Jamaat-e-Islami party is Islamist in nature and extreme enough to support the killing of apostates. In August 2006 the Jamaat-e-Islami party announced that it had made a large donation to Hamas. This donation was made via a charity set up by the party.

Hamas (Harakat Al Muqawama Al Islamiyya or Islamic Resistance Movement) is listed by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. Even though Hamas has been responsible for the deaths of Israeli civilians, it is not on Britain's list of proscribed organizations.

The UK government officially boycotts Hamas, but its failure to officially list it as a terrorist organization allows many individuals, such as Azzam Tamimi and others connected with Islam Expo, to shill for the terror group.

Additionally, Britain allows the charity Interpal to operate legally and qualify for tax reductions. On August 22, 2003, the U.S. government designated Interpal as a terrorist entity, stating that it gathered funds for the Hamas terror group. Not surprisingly Ibrahim Hewitt, who is chairman of Interpal, chaired a seminar at the 2008 Islam Expo.

Azzam Tamimi is so openly supportive of Hamas that the Malaysian news agency, Bernama, referred to him in July 2006 as a "Hamas special envoy."

Azzam Tamimi is a Palestinian by birth, and on November 2, 2004 he appeared on a BBC show entitled Hardtalk. Here, in response to the comment "..Continuing violence - that's what Hamas and your friends in Hamas speaks for?" Tamimi said: "We don't call it 'violence'. We call it 'legitimate struggle'; we call it 'jihad' ..." Later in the interview, he was asked about Hamas' suicide bombings in Israel, and answered: "If I have the opportunity I would do it .. If I can go to Palestine and sacrifice myself I would do it. Why not?"

Tamimi is director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought, and is a frequent contributor to the Left-leaning Guardian newspaper's "Comment is Free" section. His enthusiasm for Hamas - shown in the Hardtalk interview, remains undimmed. He is author of a book entitled "Hamas, the Unwritten Chapters.

Hamas was founded in 1987 by the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. The connection between Hamas and the MB is explicitly stated in the Hamas Charter, Article Two: "The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Moslem Brotherhood in Palestine. Moslem Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times."

On December 18, 2003, the (Jewish) member of parliament for Liverpool, Riverside, raised the issue of connections between the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Muslim Brotherhood. She said: "It is time that the spotlight fell on the Muslim Association of Britain, particularly the key figures, such as Azzam Tamimi, Kamal el Helbawy, Anas Al-Tikriti and Mohammed Sawalha. All of them are connected to the terrorist organisation Hamas. The Muslim Association of Britain itself is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist fundamentalist organisation founded in Egypt in 1928, and the spiritual ideologue of all Islamic terror organisations. It is militantly anti-Semitic and always has been..."

"...Azzam Tamimi often appears in the media, representing the Muslim Association of Britain. He is an adviser to Hamas in the middle east. In 1991, when he lived in Jordan, he was the official spokesperson of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front. He worked for the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood between 1989 and 1992. When he came to London, he continued his activities. He openly supports Palestinian suicide bombers."

Ms. Ellman's comments were reported the following day in the Guardian newspaper. Tamimi claimed: "I challenge her to say these things outside parliament and I will take her to court." Ms. Ellman repeated her assertions outside of parliament, and no legal action was taken against her.

Anas Altikriti, who was then president of the MAB, wrote an angry letter, denouncing Ms. Ellman's claims. Altikriti is the son of Osama Altikriti, who heads the Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood (the Iraqi Islamic Party).

One individual mentioned by Louise Ellman in parliament is intrinsically linked to the Muslim Brotherhood-linked terrorist group Hamas, and also to the Muslim Association of Britain. This man, Mohammed Kassem Sawalha (Mohammed Qassem Sawalha), was a former president of the Muslim Association of Britain. He is also the president of the British Muslim Initiative, which selects the groups and individuals that attend the annual Islam Expo exhibitions.

The management of the exhibitions is done through a company limited by guarantee. This company, called Islam Expo Limited is registered at Companies House (number 05275366).

Islam Expo Limited was originally inaugurated as a private limited company on November 2, 2004. Its board of directors originally comprised Mohammed Sawalha, Fida Alaeddin and Asif Laher. Three other directors were added later. Ismail Patel, Azzam Tamimi and Anas Al-Altikriti became directors in September 2005. Ismail Adam Patel, who is an optician from Leicester, writes articles on women and other subjects. His website promotes Hamas' "charitable" ventures.