Manchester muslim cleric hate

Manchester killer's imam 'was filmed fighting with militants in Libya despite claiming he was there to help his parents and brothers flee the violence'

•    The chief imam of Salman Abedi's mosque fought with militants in Libya
•    Mustafa Graf admits being in Libya in 2011 and that he was captured by Gaddafi forces
•    He says he was helping parents and brothers flee the fighting in the revolution
•    But he appears in a video describing battle preparations against Gaddafi's forces near Tripoli

By Chris Greenwood and Sam Greenhill and Ian Drury for the Daily Mail
26 May 2017

The chief imam of the mosque where Manchester bomber Salman Abedi worshipped fought with militants in Libya, it was reported last night.

Mustafa Graf, 46, appeared alongside elders at Didsbury Mosque at a press conference on Wednesday, condemning the atrocity which killed 22 people and distancing themselves from Abedi.

Mr Graf admits being in Libya during the 2011 revolution and that he was captured by forces from the Gaddafi regime.

He claimed he was there to help his parents and brothers flee the fighting, but in a video report shot by the French AFP news agency, a British fighter named Mostafa Abdallah Graf describes preparations for battle against Gaddafi’s forces at Beni Walid, near Tripoli.

Interviewed in front of militants loading large bombs and other munitions, he is wearing a desert combat uniform and sunglasses.

In Arabic, he says: ‘These munitions are from various cities in Libya. They are for tanks, heavy artillery and missiles. Thank God everything is ready – we’re just waiting for orders to attack.’

Father-of-four Mr Graf, who fled Libya in 1991 and was an outspoken critic of Colonel Gaddafi’s regime, was twice captured by the dictator’s forces after travelling to Libya in February 2011. He said he went to help his elderly father, who is suffering from cancer, his mother and his brothers.

But days before setting off, he praised revolutionaries’ bravery and his delight that Gaddafi’s regime could come to an end.

There is no suggestion that Mr Graf was involved in jihadi groups operating as part of the revolution. Moderate rebel groups during the 2011 revolution were supported and armed by the West.

Mr Graf, from Chorlton, did not respond to requests for comment about his time in Libya.

On Thursday night’s BBC Question Time programme, an audience member said he was given an ‘anti-West’ leaflet at Didsbury Mosque, which said ‘modesty, shame and honour have no place in Western civilisation’.

But another audience member who said she had attended the mosque for decades, said the handout was ‘not official’ and argued that the mosque had a ‘multi-cultural community’.

Imam Ramee Muhammad.A MUSLIM cleric, who lived in Manchester, is trying to have his name taken off an FBI terror list.

US citizen Imam Ramee Muhammad is accused of being associated with extremist preachers.

The 41-year-old came to Britain in 2001 with his wife and children to teach in mosques and Islamic institutes.

He later claimed asylum after the 9/11 attacks, arguing he would face prejudice if he returned to his homeland.

Since returning to his native Chicago, the former US Marine has been interviewed by FBI investigators and placed on a list of people suspected of having terrorist links.

It also prevents him returning to his old job as a prison officer and bans him from leaving the US.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Muhammad denied any extremist links and said he was to appear at Chicago Federal Court where he sought to overturn his status as a potential terrorist.

He said: "I'm not allowed to work until I'm taken off this list. I've committed no crimes and I have no criminal record. I have never talked to people about terrorism.

"I'm not charged with anything and I have talked with the FBI but I will not be able to support my family until I can clear my name."

Mr Muhammad spent nearly three years at a flat in Cheetham Hill and preached across the country. One of the mosques he spoke at was in Finsbury Park, London, where he worked with controversial cleric Abu Hamza.

A Sunday newspaper claimed, in April last year, that he had taught shoe bomber Richard Reid.

Days after the article was published, Mr Muhammad was arrested and held at the Harmsworth detention centre for two weeks.

Although freed after a deportation hearing, he soon left the country with his family.

He said Reid attended only one lecture he gave at Finsbury Park mosque and denied he promoted radical views of Islam.

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, claims that the FBI ruling has left Mr Muhammad in a legal limbo.

Philip O'Bannon, president of the organisation's Chicago branch, said: "He is banned from returning to his old job and if he went for a new job then he would have to reveal why he lost his last one.

"He has not been charged with anything. There is no problem the FBI with being suspicious of people but there needs to be proof if people are going to be banned from work and travel indefinitely."