(London) 25 year old Umar Haque who attempted to build an army of child jihadists by radicalising pupils has been convicted of a range of terrorist offences. Haque who taught an Islamic studies class despite the fact he had no teaching qualifications was allowed to supervise classes of 11- to 14-year-olds on his own, during which he re-enacted attacks on police officers and showed students videos of beheadings. Police fear Haque attempted to radicalise at least 110 children.
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| Umar Haque |
He told the boys aged about 11 to 14 he had established
contact with Isis and showed them a series of videos projected on to the wall
inside the marquee, ensuring the doors were closed. The images included blood,
wounds, and people falling from buildings. In one film, the exhumation of a boy
was shown. Haque told the children the child’s body had deteriorated because he
had been beaten after death when he was unable to answer questions put to him
by angels.
There were sessions of role-playing during which the
children would be divided into the police and attackers. There were
demonstrations of how to sever a head. He said he intended to teach the children to drive as they
got older so he could carry out multiple attacks across London. He forced them take an oath not to tell their
parents, friends or teachers. He aimed to recruit 300 jihadists, it is claimed.
He threatened them if they were to talk. It doesn't appear that any of those
children raised the alarm.” Six children gave evidence in court. The trial was
shown video of a police interview with a child, who said: “He is teaching us
terrorism, like how to fight.” The boy said: “He has been training us, kind of.
Apparently fighting is good. If you fight for the sake of Allah, on judgement
day when you get judged for your good deeds and bad deeds, fighting is good.”
In April 2016, Haque was stopped at Heathrow airport as he
attempted to board a flight to Istanbul – a well-trodden route to Syria for
aspiring Isis recruits. As a result of the stop and searches conducted of his phone,
in May 2016 he had his passport revoked and police started investigating him. In May, he and three others were arrested and charged with
attack planning. Further charges related to attempting to radicalise children
were filed a few months later.
Haque was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey on Friday of
a range of offences, including plotting terrorist attacks and collecting
information useful for terrorism.
