Anjem Choudary: Charlie Hebdo Had It Coming For A Long Time
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Anjem Choudary, a controversial British Muslim social and political activist, talked with WPHT's midday host about the terrorist attack in Paris on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and said he was not surprised that it happened.
"Some people obviously feel that they want to take the law into their own hands. And that's what we saw yesterday. We've seen it on many occasions. So, I don't think it is something which is a new phenomenon...I don't think that it would be appropriate [to condemn the killings], because I think that what has happened is that this has been coming to this particular magazine for quite a long time. They've been consistently provoking the Muslim community. You know, they've had added security. They're obviously at war with Muslims in their own foreign policy. Muslims are suffering because of the lack of mosques, because they've stopped people building mosques. There's an atmosphere of anti-Muslim and anti-Islam."
Choudary went on to rationalize what happened by saying Muslims are obliged to "defend the honor of Mohammed."
"The values that Muslims hold dear to them, and which they're willing to give their life to fight in defense are obviously very different from what you're used to living in secular liberal democracy. For Muslims, the honor of the prophet is something that they would be willing to give their life for and to defend it, which is something which is obliged on every Muslim. It is incumbent upon an Islamic state to try people who insult the Prophet for this crime and if found guilty, they will face capital punishment."
He does, however, put forth what he feels is a solution to the killings and all of the turmoil that is going on between portions of the Muslim community and the rest of the world: Sharia Law.
"I think that it would be good to invite these people with whom I live to a better way of life, So, I invite them to the Sharia. I mean, in France, in their own history, they have had the Sharia. The Sharia was implemented up to 30 miles south of Paris. So they should know exactly what they're facing when they insult the prophet Mohammed. Obviously, they have fought to do something, and it came and had repercussions."