THE murder of a Southside shopkeeper by a “religious fanatic” has been hailed by extremists, a report has declared.
An All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has warned zealouts have turned the killer of Asad Shah into a “hero”.
The report, published by a cross-party group of MPs including Glasgow Central’s Alison Thewliss, called on the Government to take immediate action to stop the spread of “anti-Ahmadi hate” from Pakistan.
t says the religiously-motivated killing of Asad in 2016 should serve as evidence that hate speech is being “left unchecked across borders”.
Extremist Tanveer Ahmed travelled to Glasgow from Yorkshire to stab Asad, 40, to death at his Minard Road shop after the newsagent posted videos online urging religious tolerance.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to have been divinely appointed as both the Promised Mahdi (Guided One) and Messiah expected by Muslims to appear towards the end times and bring about, by peaceful means, the final triumph of Islam.
The 32-year-old killer, who had links to anti-Ahmadi preachers in Pakistan, was jailed for 27 years but continued to send hate messages to supporters from his cell in Barlinnie.
The report said the killing was a “flashpoint” for rising hatred in the UK.
It said: “The murder is a shocking reminder of the threat of such hate in the UK and is a stark example of how anti-Ahmadi Muslim extremism has been allowed to permeate into the United Kingdom.
“Equally disturbing was the support in the UK for murderer Tanveer Ahmed. He was reported to have had several visits in prison from people praising his murder of Asad Shah.
“He has appeared to have signed photos and posters behind bars for those who idolise him as a celebrity and regularly receives letters from supporters.
The report made several recommendations to the Government, including that it should ensure Ofcom monitors channels that encourage hate speech.
Chairwoman of the APPG, MP Siobhain McDonagh, said the report had identified the “overspill of hatred against Ahmadi Muslims to the UK”. She said: “From vile attacks on social media to bullying at schools to the deprivation of employment opportunities, hatred against Ahmadi Muslims has reached the streets of Britain.
“This culminated in the senseless murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow in 2016 by a man enthused by what he saw in Pakistan.
“The recommendations in this report make it unequivocally clear that as an All-Party Parliamentary Group, we demand the ban of such hate preachers from the entering the UK and for hatred online and on social media to have no hiding place.”
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