Latest news with #jihad
The Independent
18-07-2025
- The Independent
Man who went to Syria guilty of joining al Qaida-linked group
A man has been found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight with a terrorist group linked to al Qaida for jihad. Isa Giga, 32, resigned from his job as a technical support consultant job at a technology firm and bought a business class return flight to Turkey before crossing into wartorn Syria in August 2015. Despite pleas from his family, Giga did not return to the UK for nine years and was arrested upon his arrival on a flight from Turkey last May. Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts between August 31 2015 and August 31 2016 by travelling to Syria to fight with the Jaysh Al Fath groups. The court heard how Giga had left the home he shared with his parents and sister in Hounslow, west London, in August 2015 and informed them he had gone to Syria for jihad. On September 11 2015 – the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States – he told his sister: 'I have come here to fight for jihad. I'm based in Idlib province and I fight for Jaysh al Fath which is the rebel coalition which includes the Free Syrian Army up to al Qaida-linked groups. 'I have come here to fight against (Bashar) Assad and also to fight against Isis. I can't sit at home when fellow Muslims are in need and their religion is in danger.' His father responded: 'Please don't do anything that will break my or your mother's or family's heart, stay within the bounds of true Islam and humanity, stay away from extremism and follow the Sunnah.' But in a further message to his sister, Giga said he had finished his training and had been given the 'opportunity to fight on the front line in the near future'. He told her: 'I hope more than anything to gain martyrdom while fighting against Isis or against the Assad regime but I fear death as much as anyone else so I am in need of your duas (prayers).' The court heard that Giga's father did everything he could to try to convince his son to return home and travelled to Reyhanli, a small Turkish town close to the Syrian border. In a letter to Giga from the border, he wrote: 'I have promısed your mum that somehow I will try my best to convince you to come out of there, and we will settle down anywhere in this world where you feel comfortable and happy… 'Can you for one minute imagine what the rest of her life will be like if something was to happen to you? Isa, her life wıll be destroyed and so will all of ours. 'It is on that basis I beg you to stay safe and come out of there immediately. And stay away from the front line because the Russians are using all kınds of firepower.' However, Giga appeared to be set on 'martyrdom', the court heard. Then in December 2015, Giga told his sister that he planned on doing charity work – although the organisation concerned had no record of it – and by August 2016 contact with his family petered out. Eight years later, Giga was issued an emergency passport by the British Consulate in Istanbul. Police were waiting when Giga arrived at Heathrow Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight on May 23 2024. Following his arrest, Giga made no comment in police interviews but in a prepared statement denied he had travelled to Syria to fight or join any groups. He claimed he had lied to his family about doing charity work, training, fighting and joining groups because he thought they would struggle to understand the idea of going there simply to live. Giving evidence in his Old Bailey trial, Giga maintained that he had gone to Syria only to live in an Islamic state. A jury deliberated for 10 hours and 26 minutes to reject his version of events and find him guilty by a majority of 11 to one. Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered a report and adjourned sentencing to October 17. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, said: 'We have been clear for some time now that anyone returning to the UK suspected of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas will be thoroughly investigated. 'We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe. 'As this case shows, we will always arrest those who return to the UK after fighting for a terrorist group, no matter how long it has been since they left the country.'
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man who went to Syria guilty of joining al Qaida-linked group
A man has been found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight with a terrorist group linked to al Qaida for jihad. Isa Giga, 32, resigned from his job as a technical support consultant job at a technology firm and bought a business class return flight to Turkey before crossing into wartorn Syria in August 2015. Despite pleas from his family, Giga did not return to the UK for nine years and was arrested upon his arrival on a flight from Turkey last May. Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts between August 31 2015 and August 31 2016 by travelling to Syria to fight with the Jaysh Al Fath groups. The court heard how Giga had left the home he shared with his parents and sister in Hounslow, west London, in August 2015 and informed them he had gone to Syria for jihad. On September 11 2015 – the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States – he told his sister: 'I have come here to fight for jihad. I'm based in Idlib province and I fight for Jaysh al Fath which is the rebel coalition which includes the Free Syrian Army up to al Qaida-linked groups. 'I have come here to fight against (Bashar) Assad and also to fight against Isis. I can't sit at home when fellow Muslims are in need and their religion is in danger.' His father responded: 'Please don't do anything that will break my or your mother's or family's heart, stay within the bounds of true Islam and humanity, stay away from extremism and follow the Sunnah.' But in a further message to his sister, Giga said he had finished his training and had been given the 'opportunity to fight on the front line in the near future'. He told her: 'I hope more than anything to gain martyrdom while fighting against Isis or against the Assad regime but I fear death as much as anyone else so I am in need of your duas (prayers).' The court heard that Giga's father did everything he could to try to convince his son to return home and travelled to Reyhanli, a small Turkish town close to the Syrian border. In a letter to Giga from the border, he wrote: 'I have promısed your mum that somehow I will try my best to convince you to come out of there, and we will settle down anywhere in this world where you feel comfortable and happy… 'Can you for one minute imagine what the rest of her life will be like if something was to happen to you? Isa, her life wıll be destroyed and so will all of ours. 'It is on that basis I beg you to stay safe and come out of there immediately. And stay away from the front line because the Russians are using all kınds of firepower.' However, Giga appeared to be set on 'martyrdom', the court heard. Then in December 2015, Giga told his sister that he planned on doing charity work – although the organisation concerned had no record of it – and by August 2016 contact with his family petered out. Eight years later, Giga was issued an emergency passport by the British Consulate in Istanbul. Police were waiting when Giga arrived at Heathrow Airport on a Turkish Airlines flight on May 23 2024. Following his arrest, Giga made no comment in police interviews but in a prepared statement denied he had travelled to Syria to fight or join any groups. He claimed he had lied to his family about doing charity work, training, fighting and joining groups because he thought they would struggle to understand the idea of going there simply to live. Giving evidence in his Old Bailey trial, Giga maintained that he had gone to Syria only to live in an Islamic state. A jury deliberated for 10 hours and 26 minutes to reject his version of events and find him guilty by a majority of 11 to one. Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered a report and adjourned sentencing to October 17.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
NYPD cop close to tears after vile bullying by woke lawmaker's ex-aide
A former intern for woke NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was captured in resurfaced videos berating Muslim police officers and celebrating 'jihad' as a 'noble cause.' Hadeeqa Malik, 21, was caught on camera bulling an NYPD officer during an apparent pro-Palestine protest in a clip shared on social media in February. 'Let's read the badges of the pigs,' Malik said while leading the chant. 'So to the Rahmans and the Muhammads, to the Alis and the Abdullahs. 'To the Rafids,' she shouted while singling out one officer who appeared uncomfortable. 'To the pigs who can call themselves by the name of Islam — put some respect on their names.' She repeatedly screamed in the cops face until his fellow officers relieved him and allowed him to step back and escape her abuse. Malik, a student at The City College of New York (CCNY), was the president of the school's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization at the time, according to her LinkedIn. Her profile states that she interned for Mamdani in his capacity as a state assemblyman during the summer of 2024. She repeatedly screamed in the cops face until his fellow officers relieved him and allowed him to step back and escape her abuse Malik shared several photos, including a smiling selfie with the now mayoral candidate, from his district office in Astoria, Queens. According to her LinkedIn, she has also been an outreach coordinator at Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) since the start of this year. Another surfaced video showed Malik calling activism 'all jihad' while encouraging protesters to get suspended and arrested. 'This is all jihad, this is all ibadah, and this is all counted for by Allah,' she said during a webinar she shared on LinkedIn in September. Jihad is an Arabic word that has been traditionally used justify terrorism as a holy war, but there have been recent attempts to euphemistically re-frame the term as meaning 'struggle'. Ibadah, meanwhile, refers to worshiping Allah. 'How gangster are you?... How committed am I to this?... What am I willing to sacrifice for this noble cause? If you get suspended, if you get doxed… it will never, ever be in vain.' contact Mamdani's office, The City College of New York and CAIR for comment. Malik has faced harsh criticisms for the resurfaced videos, with many slamming her behavior towards the officer. 'Who is the pig here? The policeman with stoic restraint or the unhinged lunatic hurling personal insults,' one person said. 'Good job on the sergeant by stepping in and removing that officer from her incessant verbal abuse,' said another. Some commenters have used her connection to Mamdani to call out the mayoral candidate. 'Truly terrifying.. it's like the college encampments not only taking over New York, but running it. Is this really what people want for their city? I really hope the message gets through that this is not the way forward. Find the light, avoid the darkness,' one person said. 'We tried to warn you. This will be ignored and they will elect him anyway on false promises of sugar candy mountain,' a second person said.
Fox News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Mamdani's former intern called activism 'jihad' and confronted police officers as 'pigs'
A former intern for New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appeared in a resurfaced video calling activism "jihad" while encouraging protesters to get suspended or arrested in defiance of "settler colonialism." The footage of Hadeeqa Malik shows her calling out Muslims who haven't taken to the streets. "The true believer knows that none of this is in vain, that this is all Jihad," said Malik in the recently resurfaced video, using the Muslim term for holy war. "So, the conversation of doxing, the conversation of getting arrested and suspended, I think it's time for Muslims to start to say, 'All right, all right, so what? Do what you want. I'm going to do what I got to do,'" she added. Malik served as a communications, outreach, policy, and constituent services intern at Mamdani's state Assembly office during the summer of 2024. A photo shows the pair smiling for a selfie. Her profile also said she recently began work as an outreach coordinator for the Counsel on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. She also served as the president of City College of New York chapter for Students for Justice in Palestine from June 2024 to June 2025, her profile states. Over the more than two-hour video during a webinar, Malik responded to concerns about protesters possibly getting doxed, suspended and arrested. "How gangster are you?" she asked. "And I know everybody has their own families and has an education and everything. It's just a question." She noted that getting suspended or doxed is "bound to happen… when you're doing something for the sake of Allah here in the West it will never, ever be in vain, and the true believer does not fear that." In another video, Malik was seen screaming at a reportedly Muslim New York police officer at an anti-Israel protest. "Let's read the badges of the pigs," she said, as she read the names of the officers aloud. The composed Muslim officer was singled out as she appeared to say he brought shame on his name. "To the pigs who can call themselves by the name of Islam, put some respect on their names!" she said. Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani's campaign and attempted to reach out to Malik.
Fox News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Iranian crowdfunding campaign claims to raise $40M as reward for assassinating Trump
An Iranian movement called the "Blood Covenant" is claiming to have crowdfunded more than $40 million as a reward for assassinating President Donald Trump, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). A website for the movement contained a poster of Trump in crosshairs with an appeal to donate "in order to 'help establish stable peace,'" the nonprofit reported. It added that the poster quotes a verse from the Quran that reads, "Strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah." "This is a call to jihad, inviting believers to donate their money and sacrifice their lives," MEMRI said. "The poster lends religious legitimacy to assassinating Trump." The apparent threat comes weeks after the U.S. launched devastating airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. "In Iran in recent days there has been an increase in explicit calls for assassinating Trump, from the Iranian regime's religious establishment, due allegedly to a threat by Trump to assassinate Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – even though Trump said he had actually prevented such a move," MEMRI said. "These calls are backed by fatwas issued in late June by Iranian grand ayatollahs. The fatwas stated that the punishment for Trump is the same as for a muhareb – that is, an enemy of Allah and Islam – and that is death, and the permitting of his blood." "Iranian regime officials, among them Assembly of Expert members who are close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior clerics and lecturers at the Howza-e Ilmiyya seminaries, and the regime's Friday preachers, are explicitly calling for Trump's assassination," MEMRI added. "The fact that these calls to assassinate Trump are coming from above and being echoed in the street and through all strata of society, including in the Iranian media, underlines the depth and uniformity of the regime's institutional incitement," it also said. "It reflects a broad religious and regime consensus strengthened by reiterated emphasis of the reward anyone carrying out the punishment against Trump can expect to receive – in addition to the $40.3 million, also Paradise and the status of a defender of Islam." The Foundation for Defense of Democracies alleged that an Iranian national and former employee for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting – which it described as "the regime's main propaganda network" – is behind the creation of the "Blood Covenant" website. The State Department did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. A senior State Department official said the Trump administration is aware of the threats against the president, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
