BlogIssues

Self proclaimed 23-year old “Lyrical Terrorist” Samina Malik from London, has been convicted under the Terrorism Act. The girl was found guilty on charges of owning terrorist manuals/poetry.

What’s behind the conviction:

• Malik had apparently written extremist poems praising Osama Bin Laden, supporting martyrdom and discussing beheading.
• Not only did she write them, she also published them on the Internet.
• Her screename was “Lyrical Terrorist” She should have gone with Jihab Kitteh or something.
• The police reportedly also found extreme Islamist literature in her bedroom, including the Al-Qaeda Manual and The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook. That is scary, seriously. Not exactly poetic bedtime lecture is it?
• The court also heard she had written on the back of a WH Smith till receipt: “The desire within me increases every day to go for martyrdom.”
• She shared extremist views on the Internet, interacted with like minded people and also tried to donate money to a terrorist group.

Her defense :

 

• She said she chose the online username “Lyrical Terrorist” because it sounded “cool“. I don’t know about other people but calling oneself a terrorist, even if it may sound “cool” to you, is definitely NOT “cool”. It’s anything but “cool”.
• As for her poems, she said they were “meaningless” which I find very hard to believe. Poetry is what I consider something utterly personal, a way to share one’s thoughts, ideas and emotions. She obviously must have felt exactly the way her poems described. I agree with the prosecutor who said that “These communications strongly indicate Samina Malik was deeply involved with terrorist related groups.”

Before this verdict, she was previously found not guilty for a more serious charge, under Section 57 of the Act, of possessing an article for a terrorist purpose. She denied the charges. Malik was bailed under what the judge described as “house arrest” until her sentencing on 6 December and the judge warned her that all sentencing options remained open to him.

A lot of people seem to sympathize with her when clearly they don’t know the full facts behind this case. I don’t think Muslims should get any sympathy just for the virtue of being Muslims.