Jalal Uddin: Rochdale Imam Murder Update

Back in February I reported on the brutal murder of Rochdale Imam Jalal Uddin in broad daylight. As usual, those pretending to care about Muslims raged far and wide about ‘Islamophobia’ and anti-Muslim violence. The suspects were later named as Mohammed Hussain Syeedy and Mohammed Abdul Kadir. As you can imagine, it all went a bit quiet from there. This is a pattern that also followed the murders of Asad Shah and Abdul Hadi Arwani – also killed at the hands of their fellow religionists. It seems an appetite to address the hate directed at Muslims only exists when it comes from outside their own communities. Details surrounding the murder of Jalal Uddin have been scarce until today and they are stranger than you might imagine. According to a report from the BBC:

The prosecution claims the Bangladeshi national [Uddin] was targeted after he left a mosque where he usually prayed, ate a meal at a friend's house and then walked home. Mr Syeedy and Mr Kadir were said to have taken offence after discovering he practised Ruqya healing, which involves the use of amulets. It is alleged the pair mounted surveillance of Mr Uddin, who was described as "quiet, dignified and well-respected", before he was killed in an attack, thought to have involved a hammer. Opening the trial, prosecutor Paul Greaney QC said: "Who hated a decent man like Jalal Uddin with such virulence?

"The answer to that important question is to be found in the twisted ideology of Isis, sometimes known as Islamic State. "Jalal Uddin was a practitioner of a form of Islamic healing called Ruqya. "Isis regards this practice as black magic and adheres to the view that those who engage in it deserve severe punishment, even death. "Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, the defendant, and an associate of his named Mohammed Abdul Kadir, were supporters of Isis and so they subscribed to the view that those who practised Ruqya deserved such punishment."

It’ll be interesting to see how this exclusively supernatural concern will be explained away by the ‘nothing to do with Islam’ crowd. Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.