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Meet Majid Freeman, terror sympathising Leicester man who instigated violence against Hindus and is influencing the media’s anti-Hindu coverage

Given the involvement of Majid Freeman in the violence against Hindus in Leicester, the misinformation he spread and his terror sympathising views and associations, one has to wonder if there is more to the violence than meets the eye. The fact that IHH was involved in the Syrian convoy, of which Freeman was a part of, and that IHH has forged an alliance with radical Islamist PFI raises more questions,

Nupur J Sharma
Meet Majid Freeman, terror sympathising Leicester man who instigated violence against Hindus and is influencing the media's anti-Hindu coverage
Majid Freeman

Leicester has been burning with Muslim mobs going on a rampage against the Hindu community in the city. After hundreds of people crowded the streets in the city’s eastern section, violence erupted on Friday night in Leicester, United Kingdom. This comes after a spate of targeted attacks on Hindus followed the Asia Cup India-Pakistan cricket match on August 28, when armed Islamists attacked Hindus and their residences in the vicinity.

On Friday, hundreds of Hindus had taken to the streets of Leicester to protest against the earlier violence by Muslims against Hindus in the area. During the protest by Hindus, the Muslim mob started indiscriminately attacking Hindus with stones and glass bottles. The protest by Hindus was disrupted by Islamists as they hurled glass bottles at the protestors. A Saffron flag was also desecrated by a mob of Islamists in front of the police.

The violence on the 17th of September erupted after a spate of violence that had gripped the city over a span of 3-4 days, starting from the 4th of September, where Muslim mobs had gone on a rampage identifying Hindus and unleashing violence against them. During the rampant violence by Islamists in the city earlier in September and on the 17th, several Hindus were specifically targeted after being identified by the display of Hindu symbols. 

Speaking to OpIndia, Insight UK, a Hindu organisation bringing the issues of the Leicester community to the forefront through advocacy, said that during the 6th September violence, several Hindu houses were attacked after the Islamists identified these houses through the display of religious symbols. 6th September was the third consecutive night of attacks against the Leicester Hindu community, Insight UK told us. During this, hundreds of Muslims had taken to the streets and were attacking Hindu homes after identifying them with the display of the Om symbol, saffron flags, picture of Lord Ganesh etc.

The media, however, has been peddling a grotesquely false narrative about the Leicester violence. The foundation of the media narrative is that it was “RSS goons” and “Hindutvavadis” who attacked the marginalised Muslim community of Leicester.

A journalist associated with UK-based leftist media outlet The Guardian, Aina Khan, tweeted about her ‘tense day’ while covering the Leicester violence. She claims to have interviewed one Hindu man who was wearing a motorbike helmet and holding an Indian flag. She ranted against RSS, Hindus, and Hindutva and placed the blame for the violence against Hindus squarely at the doorstep of the Hindu community, claiming that it was the Muslim community that was victimised by the violence. A comprehensive report on her assertions can be read here and here.

As temples, and religious symbols got desecrated, homes got attacked and Hindus were under siege by the Muslim community of Leicester, Aina went on a rant praising the Muslim community for their conduct. She tweeted that she was accompanied by Majid Freeman, a local Muslim “activist”.

Majid Freeman is a local Leicester Muslim “activist” who is known to harbour problematic and extremist Islamic views. Throughout the Leicester violence, Majid was at the forefront of spreading fake news that instigated violence against Hindus.

It was on the 28th of August that a scuffle had broken out after India defeated Pakistan in a T20 match after the Indian flag was desecrated. After the scuffle, Hindus had even calmed the situation down and tended to the individual who had snatched and desecrated the Indian flag. Majid Freeman, however, had a different story to tell.

On the 30th of August, after the Leicester police got influenced by the Muslim organisations and lied about “death to Muslims” being chanted by Hindus (they later clarified their investigation found no such chants were heard), Majid took to Twitter to rabble-rouse against Hindus.

On the 30th itself, he lied about Quran being desecrated in Leicester, insinuating that the Hindus had committed this act. However, OpIndia tried to verify these claims. There is one video about this supposed Quran desecration where 2 men and 1 woman are seen collecting torn pages of the Quran from the street. There is no video evidence of the Quran being desecrated. Moreover, there has been no complaint filed by the police and no video evidence submitted for investigation either.

There was another incident that was cited by Majid Freeman to claim that Hindus had been attacking Muslims. He claimed that a mob of 30+ Hindus had chased and assaulted a Muslim teenager. When confirmed, it turned out that while the Muslim organisations had claimed this, no video evidence was submitted to the police and no investigation was underway, OpIndia was told by Insight UK.

This is what Majid Freeman wrote in an article on 5PillarsUK, an Islamist website that talks about Muslims and the Ummah.

Meet Majid Freeman, terror sympathising Leicester man who instigated violence against Hindus and is influencing the media's anti-Hindu coverage
What he wrote in his report

On the 4th of September, when the violence against Hindus started with mobs hunting them down in their houses and on the streets, Majid Freeman took to Twitter to dog-whistle against Hindus again.

On the 4th, no procession was planned and the Hindus had decided to let the incident go, however, Majid decided to talk about potential violence again to instigate Muslims against Hindus. In fact, he even lied that Hindus had attacked a Sikh man because he had raised objections to them chanting “death to Pakistan”.

The truth that has now emerged is that this individual, a Sikh man, had snatched the Indian flag and desecrated it. The Hindus at that time had thought of the Sikh man as a Pakistani and started chanting “Pakistan Murdabad”, which does not literally translate to “Death to Pakistan”. Actually, it simply means “down down Pakistan”, a slogan common world over in protests and even in cricket matches. In the scuffle, his t-shirt was torn, however, later, the Hindus themselves took the Sikh man to a nearby cafe and ensured that he was ok.

Here is a still from the video posted by Insight UK that proves that Indians had taken the man in the cafe and tended to him.

Meet Majid Freeman, terror sympathising Leicester man who instigated violence against Hindus and is influencing the media's anti-Hindu coverage
Still from video posted by Insight for UK

This incident was given a communal colour only after Muslim organisations like FMO and Leicester Council of Faiths insisted to the police that “death to Muslims” was chanted by Hindus. They then approached the police and insisted that this fact was mentioned in an email that was circulated widely. Later, it was the Hindus who approached the police and asked for evidence and when that evidence was not available, the police were forced to clarify that such chants were not heard. The Muslim organisations did not bother to circulate the clarification thereby furthering hate against Hindus. Majid completely misses these facts on purpose.

From the 4th to the 7th of September, Muslim mobs went on a rampage against Hindus. On the 4th of September, when Majid tweeted and dog-whistled, the Muslim mob went on a rampage unprovoked while the Hindus were celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. Eggs were thrown when Hindu symbols were spotted and where Ganesh puja was being held. A Hindu man was dragged out of his home and stabbed, when his aunt ran out of the house to defend him, she was injured because the Muslim mob punched and beat her.

On the 8th of September, he repeated the lie that a Muslim boy was attacked by 30+ Hindus, and his evidence to back that claim was an unverifiable video and the fact that he wanted people to trust his word. As mentioned before, there is no investigation into this because there was no evidence provided.

Even after the violence that was perpetrated on the 4, 5, 6 and 7th of September, Majid continued to lie. He claimed on the 9th of September that a Muslim boy was held by Hindus and asked for his religion. When they found out he was a Muslim, they tried to beat him, however, the Muslim boy managed to escape after beating the Hindus up. The Leicester police responded to Majid saying that such an incident had not happened.

On the 12th of September, a dangerous lie started. It was alleged that Hindu men had attempted to abduct a Muslim girl while she was going to school. The school was alerted about this by Muslim organisations and a subsequent complaint was filed. The Leicester police on the 13th said that they were investigating the complaint. That statement was used by Majid to claim that the police had “confirmed that the incident took place”.

After the story went viral, aided by Majid Freeman, the Hindu man started getting threats from Islamists since they had outed his car number, his location and his picture.

The Muslim mob had also reached his house and started circling the area.

On the 14th of September, the Leicester police confirmed that the news was fake. There was no kidnapping attempt on the Muslim girl. It is pertinent to note that in front of the police, even the young Muslim girl had corroborated the story and given specific descriptions of the Hindu man, probably egged on and coached by the Islamists.

Meet Majid Freeman, terror sympathising Leicester man who instigated violence against Hindus and is influencing the media's anti-Hindu coverage
Statement by Leicester police

It was only on the 15th that Majid admitted that the news was fake. But it was too late by then. The Muslim mob had already been stirred and Hindus were already marked. In fact, that Hindu boy’s life had been perennially jeopardised.

On the 17th, Majid Freeman basically admitted that Muslims were victimising Hindus by tweeting that the locals were fed up of Hindus playing loud music and had started feeling much safer since Muslims started “patrolling the area”. Given the violence, Freeman’s jugglery of words notwithstanding, we know what “patrolling the area” meant. He essentially and clearly meant that the Muslim population of Leicester felt “safe” after their goons had started targeting Hindus.

Pertinently, it was the 17th of September when Hindus came under attack yet again by the Muslims, the day that Majid Freeman tweeted.

On the 17th, Hindus had decided to peacefully march in Leicester, protesting against the Islamist violence that had continued throughout all these days. From the 7th to the 17th, while Majid claimed that the area was peaceful, Insight UK told OpIndia that Hindus were constantly under attack with stones and glass bottles being pelted at them and their homes. When the rally was being taken out peacefully by Hindus, Majid Freeman started dog-whistling again.

Simply because there was a mosque from where the Hindu procession passed, Majid Freeman warned Hindus in his tweet that Muslims are “getting provoked again”, almost as a precursor to the violence that was about to erupt.

While the Hindus marched, Muslims took to the streets and started performing Namaz. Since it was a Saturday and Friday, one can safely conclude that this was a planned move. The Hindus, OpIndia is told, waited patiently to let them finish their namaz before proceeding with their protest.

While the media tried to paint this as an “India vs Pakistan” violence, it was clear from Majid’s tweet on the 18th that it was violence by Muslims of all hues against Hindus. “Muslims from ALL backgrounds in #Leicester are united. Whether they be Indian, Pakistani, Bengali, Somali, Arab etc. We’re here united as one. We won’t allow this #Hindutva extremism to spread here. This isn’t India where we’re the minority & they have the state supporting them”, he tweeted.

From the 17th, Hindus feel gravely under attack. A temple was also desecrated by the Muslims when they took down the Om flag and burnt it. Hindu houses were attacked and Hindus were being chased down, being met with stones and glass bottles.

Majid on the 17th justified the violence by the Muslims against Hindus calling it the community “standing up for themselves” because the Hindu community “broke peace” by marching past a mosque and chanting “Jai Shree Ram”.

While justifying violence by the Muslims, Majid lied about Hindus coming in from London to create violence. The truth is that it was the Muslims who had congregated from several places outside Leicester. In fact, among those arrested were two Muslims from Birmingham.

In fact, Majid slipped up in one of his tweets on the 17th where he thanked other Muslims for “responding on short notice” clearly indicating that Muslims had come to Leicester to target Hindus.

In fact, another lie that was circulated by Majid Freeman and his Islamist cohorts was that a Mosque was attacked by Hindus during their peaceful protest. The Leicester police confirmed that no such mosque was attacked, however, they did confirm that a Hindu temple had been vandalised.

Meet Majid Freeman, terror sympathising Leicester man who instigated violence against Hindus and is influencing the media's anti-Hindu coverage
Tweets by Leicester police

With Majid and his cohorts instigating violence against Hindus, the Hindu community of Leicester have been living in mortal fear since late August. There has been violence perpetrated against them, which is backed by plenty of evidence. The Leicester police have secured its first conviction in the violence and the individual who has been sent to 10 months in prison is not a Hindu – his name is Amos Noronha, who is a resident of Illingworth Road in Leicester.

Who is Majid Freeman

To understand who Majid Freeman is, we must travel back to 2013 when ISIS activity was at its peak in Syria. In 2013, BBC aired a documentary about the “Aid for Syria” convoy which had “humanitarian organisations” and “activists” travelling to Syria to help those affected by ISIS atrocities. BBC at the time hid the names of the charities involved in the convoy – it was later revealed by analyst and scholar Sam Westrop that those charities were One Nation, Al Fatiha Global and Aid4Syria.

At the time, this is what Westrop wrote:

These charities regularly organize fundraising events with Islamist themes, and invite radical preachers as guests. In mid-November, for instance, the Aid for Syria convoy ran an event named “O’Ummah [Community of Muslims], Wake Up and Rise”, starring as its key speakers, Zahir Mahmood and Moazzam Begg.

Zahir Mahmood just so happens to be a supporter of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, the charter of which calls for genocide against the Jewish people. Mahmood claims that, “Hamas are not terrorists. They’re freedom fighters.”

Moazzam Begg, meanwhile, was a detainee at Guantanamo Bay who now runs a group called CagePrisoners, which lobbies in support of imprisoned Al Qaeda terrorists. Begg has previously admitted that he was responsible for “small arms and mountain tactics” at al-Qaeda training camps, to which he also sent money, on the Afghan-Pakistani border. Begg has also admitted that he fought alongside jihadists in Bosnia. Through CagePrisoners, Begg presently campaigns for the release of his fellow Guantanamo detainee, Shaker Aamer, whom Begg himself had previously described as a “recruiter” for al-Qaeda. The human rights activist Gita Sahgal has called Begg: “Britain’s most famous supporter of the Taliban.”

In fact, the Aid for Syria convoy had named some of their vehicles Aafia Siddiqui, an Al Qaeda activist described by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller as “an al-Qaeda operative and facilitator.” During her trial, she insisted that she did not want any Jewish lawyers.

In 2013, when the Aid For Syria charity was being exposed as Islamist by several scholars, Majid Freeman was in Syria under this banner, with another “aid worker” Alan Henning, who was later abducted and beheaded by ISIS. He was with Henning when he was abducted by ISIS, indicates reports.

Freeman spoke at the memorial service for Henning, calling him a beautiful man who helped when the international community looked away, however, according to a Telegraph report, only two weeks after the beheading, he started posting messages supporting ISIS. In his Facebook post, he asked for “dua” for a British ISIS terrorist Ifthekar Jaman who was charged with a Syrian terror plot. He also posted a video that essentially said that ISIS was a reasonable response to Western policy and said, “This brother hit the nail on the head”.

Majid Freeman, according to the Telegraph report, has expressed support for Al Qaeda terrorists calling them Shaheed, said that Al Aqsa will be conquered by Jihad and expressed sympathy and support to Al Qaeda cleric who incited terrorist attacks against non-Muslims.

Excerpt from Telegraph report

Interestingly, the Telegraph report also reveals that Freeman has been questioned by the police but has not been charged with any crime in relation to Aid4Syria.

Majid has, essentially, encouraged European Muslims to “do jihad in Syria,” and has promoted “tributes” to the late Al Qaeda terrorist Anwar Al-Awlaki on his Twitter and Facebook accounts – this screenshot was posted by Sam Westrop in his expose.

Post by Majid Freeman

Not only this, Majid Freeman has expressed his support for Pakistani terrorist Aafia Siddique.

Aafia Siddiqui is a 49-years-old terrorist of Pakistan origin. She is currently serving an 86-year prison sentence for attacking US Army and FBI personnel in Afghanistan. In 2008, she was detained by Afghan authorities. According to the Department of Justice, they had found a number of items in her possession, including handwritten notes that mentioned a mass-casualty attack. There was a list of various locations such as Plum Island, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and the Brooklyn Bridge in the US, including in the items.

According to DoJ, she was being held in an unsecured manner when she grabbed a rifle from US Army personnel and fired it at the officers interviewing her. An FBI agent and a US Army officer were injured. She was convicted in 2010 and currently serving an 86-year prison sentence. Her supporters from Pakistan believe she is innocent and a victim of the American war on terror.

The Taliban and Islamic State, along with Majid Freeman, of course, had sought her release in exchange for American and European hostages. One of the notable trade offers was of journalist James Foley who was captured in Syria and later beheaded in August 2014. In July 2014, ISIS offered the release of Kayla Mueller, a 22-year-old woman who was abducted in Syria, in exchange for Siddiqui.

Siddiqui did her graduation and PhD from the US in behavioural neuroscience. Reports suggest she worked as a courier for Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, who was the main accused of the 9/11 attacks. After 9/11, Siddiqui had returned to Pakistan with her first husband and children. When she tried to help Taliban terrorists near the Pakistan-Afghan border, her husband disapproved, leading to their divorce in 2002.

Pakistan has also come forward in her support. In September 2021, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Special Aide to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Interreligious Harmony and the Middle East, sought early release of Siddiqui on the pretext of an alleged attack on her in prison. Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, Masood Khan, also extended support for Siddiqui.

Majid Freeman also supported Oliver Bridgeman, an ISIS terrorist whose passport was cancelled after he travelled to Syria. According to a report, he essentially painted the terrorist as an aide worker, much like himself. Oliver Bridgemen converted to Islam and became Yusuf. He is still in Syria fighting for ISIS.

Majid Freeman and his links with organisations connected to Al Qaeda, IHH – Is there a PFI connection?

At the heart of this question, are three so-called charities that were ‘working’ in Syria – Aid4Syria, Al Fatiha Global (Aid4Syria’s parent organisation), IHH and Children in Deen and One Nation.

It is pertinent to note that Majid Freeman was travelling in the humanitarian convoy to Syria along with these organisations and is personally involved with others like One Nation and Aid4Syria.

The Telegraph report says:

Aid4Syria’s parent charity, Al Fatiha Global, is under investigation by the Charity Commission for alleged “links [with] individuals purportedly involved in supporting armed or other inappropriate activities in Syria”. The investigation was launched in March after one of its workers, Adeel Ali, was apparently pictured with his arms around two masked men holding rifles. He denies the picture is of him.

Two other charities involved in the aid convoy joined by Mr Henning and Mr Freeman, IHH and Children in Deen, have also been accused of aiding jihadist terrorism in Syria. IHH, a Turkish group, was raided by that country’s police earlier this year. Children in Deen is under investigation by the Charity Commission. The first British suicide bomber in Syria, Abdul Waheed Majeed, travelled to the country in a convoy organised by Children in Deen.

A third charity involved in the aid convoy, One Nation, is the subject of “concerns” by the Charity Commission over its work in Syria. One of its trustees, Arshad Patel, was arrested by police investigating the 7/7 London suicide bombings, but not charged. His sister, Hasina, is the widow of Mohammed Sidique Khan, the leader of the suicide bombers. Mr Freeman is also closely linked to One Nation.

While other organisations seem to have sympathies for Al Qaeda and ISIS terrorists and have also been under investigation for their activities in Syria, one Turkish group, IHH, is of particular concern to India as well.

In 2020, news emerged that IHH, which has links to Al Qaeda, has forged an alliance with PFI in India. According to the report by Nordic Monitor in 2020, the meeting was held on the 20th of October, 2018, seven months ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019.

The meeting, clouded in secrecy, was apparently part of Erdogan’s outreach towards Muslims in the Southeast Asia. The two key PFI leaders who attended the meeting were E.M. Abdul Rahiman and Prof. P. Koya, members of the National Executive Council of the PFI, the report claims. It was attended by IHH Secretary-General Durmuş Aydın and IHH Vice President Hüseyin Oruç as well and partnership in various fields were discussed.

The Nordic Monitor says that IHH works with Turkish intelligence service MIT, led by Erdogan loyalist Hakan Fidan, an Islamist as well. It also said that the PFI was promoted by Turkic state-run media Anadolu as a civic and social group the members of which were abused by Indian police. The IHH was accused to have smuggled arms to Al-Qaeda-affiliated Jihadists in Syria in January 2014.

The report states further, “The IHH had long been flagged by Russia as an organization that smuggled arms to jihadist groups in Syria, according to intelligence documents submitted to the UN Security Council on Feb. 10, 2016. Russian intelligence documents even furnished the license plate numbers of trucks dispatched by the IHH loaded with arms and supplies bound for al-Qaeda-affiliated groups including the Nusra Front.”

The Nordic Monitor also said that the Erdogan regime in Turkey is helping the IHH in global operations using its diplomatic clout. The PFI in India has been accused of involvement in numerous instances of violence and their members have been accused of murder as well. The Enforcement Directorate had accused the PFI of funding anti-CAA riots across the country.

Here are the pictures that had emerged at the time.

Photograph of meeting between IHH and PFI (Image Credit: Nordic Monitor)
Photograph of meeting between IHH and PFI (Image Credit: Nordic Monitor)

Given the involvement of Majid Freeman in the violence against Hindus in Leicester, the misinformation he spread to instigate Muslims to target Hindus and his terror sympathising views and associations, one has to wonder if there is more to the violence than meets the eye. The fact that IHH was involved in the Syrian convoy, of which Freeman was a part of, and that IHH has forged an alliance with radical Islamist PFI in India which works explicitly against Hindus (read this vision document to know about their plans to turn India Islamic and subjugate Hindus) raises far more questions than it answers.

That Majid Freeman is a radical Islamist has been proved by publicly available information about his views. However, whether the Leicester police would investigate his alleged terror links and his potential links to India, is something one can only speculate about. As of now, the Leicester police have opened no investigation against Majid Freeman in the anti-Hindu violence. Given that it is this individual who is being relied on by journalists like Aina Khan to “investigate” and “report from the ground” in Leicester, one is not surprised that the coverage of the incident by global media has been skewed against Hindus. What is far more worrying, is that none of the publications quoting Majid Freeman has included his problematic views in their reports, leading people to believe that he is merely a local “activist” working for Muslims.

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Searched termsleicester violence, leicester riots, leicester news, leicester hindus, leicester muslims, leicester hindu muslim violence
Nupur J Sharma
Nupur J Sharmahttps://www.nupurjsharma.com
Editor-in-Chief, OpIndia.

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