Islamic Preacher Faces Probe For Hailing Boko Haram Over The Girls' Abduction

A United Kingdom-based Islamic preacher, Mizanur Rahman, is being investigated by the authorities after a video showed him praising Boko Haram for kidnapping the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls in Nigeria. The 31-year-old preacher, who is from Palmers Green, north London, claimed in the video-recording posted online that killing non-Muslims was 'not necessarily a bad thing'. Mizanur Rahman said in the video: “People want to make it out as though history began on the day these girls were taken from – sorry I should say these women were taken from – this high school in Nigeria. “They didn’t do to these girls what the Nigerian government had been doing to the Muslims all these years. They didn’t rape anybody. They didn’t torture. They didn’t murder any of these girls.” The preacher was quoted to have described the terrorist group as being “full of good messages,” including its support for al-Qaeda. A report by a UK tabloid, Daily Mail, said Rahman praised the Boko Haram terror group for all its activities. Rahman, who is said to be a follower of a firebrand preacher, Anjem Choudary, was convicted in 2007 for a murder-related case and bagged a six-year jail sentence. He was released from prison in 2010. Reacting, Anjem Choudary said Rahman is a ‘good friend’ who had given a measured response to the crisis. In the words of Preacher Anjem Choudary: “I believe if you look at what he was saying it was very measured. You just have to look at the atrocities that, especially in 2011 and 2012, that were carried out against the women and child of Al-Mujahideen [Asari Dokubo?] by the Nigerian government. “That story has not been told, and this is retaliation for that. The Americans are only interested in Nigeria because of its oil reserves. Otherwise, they would not be bothered.” UK authorities are however studying the recorded "hate" messages with a view to take appropriate action.