Trial of Muslim Cleric For Soliciting Murder Begins In Britain

In London on Wednesday, the criminal trial against Islamic cleric Abu Hamza Al Masri began in Old Bailey. He is charged with soliciting murder and stirring up racial hatred. The Middle East Times reports that prosecutor David Perry said that Hamza, in his sermons and lectures, told his followers that part of their religious duty was to kill apostates and non-believers-- particularly Jews. Perry told the jury that this was not a trial against Islam or the Koran, but about what Hamza said. Perry added: "It is quite clear that no religion condones the murder or killing of innocent men, women or children or the dissemination of hatred and bigotry. Any suggestion that murder and hatred can be wrapped in a cloak of righteousness and justified on the basis of the great religion of Islam and its book, the Koran, is simply incorrect." Hamza denies all the charges.