AHMED Hassan, who tried to blow up a packed tube train at Parsons Green in West London, was recently sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 34 years.

In his sentencing remarks, Justice Haddon-Cave made the following pertinent and astute observations: “Finally, Ahmed Hassan, let me say this to you. You will have plenty of time to study the Quran in prison in the years to come. You should understand that the Quran is a book of peace; Islam is a religion of peace. The Quran and Islam forbid anything extreme, including extremism in religion. Islam forbids breaking the ‘law of the land’ where one is living or is a guest. Islam forbids terrorism (hiraba).

“The Quran and the Sunnah provide that the crime of perpetrating terror to “cause corruption in the land” is one of the most severe crimes in Islam. So it is in the law of the United Kingdom. You have, therefore, received the most severe of sentences under the law of this land. You have violated the Quran and Islam by your actions, as well as the law of all civilised people. It is to be hoped that you will come to realise this one day.”

Shafiuddin Ahmed

Vancouver, Canada

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2018