I have spent some time on social media piecing together the events which led to the Tabligh Jamaat ijtima being closed early on Sunday and 12 arrests for an alleged terror plot against the event.
I gather two incidents rattled the organisers. First were reports of ‘an intruder’ filming. This may have been this young man who entered quite openly and filmed quite openly on Friday; not underhand or secretly.
I can’t embed videos. But here. Here. and here. This isn’t his but he found it.
Below are three screenshots from those videos. Look at the size of those tents. And of the ones he took walking about not a single woman. Not even a sign (or maybe he was too cautious to get too near) saying “Sisters only”.
And bear in mind that Tabligh Jamaat are banned in quite a few countries, including some major Islamic ones. The London transport bombers worshipped in one of their Dewsbury establishments.
The estate is owned by one Mohammed Farmer (a convert maybe). He has let the listed Georgian House become neglected and ignored all repair and restoration orders. I wouldn’t be surprised if, after hiring it, the leaders of TB decide it would make a good site for their new HQ as they didn’t succeed with the West Ham site.
The 12 men and women arrested for terrorism seem to be this group, BSP, about which I knew nothing until today. Their crime (if I have it right, it’s only on social media but widely so, and including people and institutions who I have found to be reliable) if to legally fly a drone over the area to observe and record.
This links to a short video.
Even the drone flying above didn’t spot any women.
I can’t see actual sheep dead or alive and the tubs of red liquid may be beetroot, and the drainage ditch for washing up water.
Or maybe not.
Three of the men are charged with conspiracy to murder. As a charge Conspiracy can be very serious. In my day it was used to get periferal members of a gang when there wasn’t enough direct evidence to convict on the main active charge. These days a bad-tempered tweet quickly deleted gets three years imprisonment. So I’ll reserve judgment on that one.
One thing occurs to me.
.
Those tents and the wudu lines have demonstrated that they are acceptable accomodation for thousands of Muslim men.
Why does the government not requisition the estate and the tents for the dinghy boys, instead of putting them up in hotels and family houses taken from the housing market. Throw a corden of barbed wire round and post a military guard and there they are, safe and sound until they can be processed and returned.
