The international Islamist

The row over the fate of Jamaican Islamist Abdullah al Faisal points to political and security failures in Africa and the West

On 15 January, some five people died in clashes between demonstrators and police in Nairobi after protests against the detention of Jamaican Islamist preacher Abdullah al Al Faisal. A proselytiser with a conviction for incitement to murder in Britain, Al Faisal's travels across Africa came to a halt after he was arrested in Mombasa; his name was on an international watch list. Al Faisal received the full backing of Kenya's Muslim Human Rights Forum, led by Al Amin Kimathi, which tried to turn his arrest into a cause célèbre. Some non-Muslims joined police in fighting Al Faisal's supporters, showing how such clashes can quickly escalate in tense political times.

Article Tags:
Jamaican, Abdullah al Faisal, Britain, Al Amin Kimathi, Somalis, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Tanzania, Otieno Kajwang, United States, Pass the preacher, Yahya Jammeh', Gambia, Nigeria, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Switzerland, Angola, South Africa, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Trevor William Forrest, Germaine Lindsay, cause célèbre, New York Times, Dawa, Tablighi Jamaat, kaffirs

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