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5 Nov 2010

Outrage over extremist website’s MP hitlist

A hitlist of MPs who voted for the Iraq war has been removed from a radical Islamist website, after the Home Office urged US authorities to remove the content.

Roshonara Choudhry has been dubbed a heroine by an extremist website.

The revolutionmuslim.com site called Roshonara Choudhry a “heroine” for stabbing Labour’s Stephen Timms in the stomach.

Yesterday’s post -which has since been removed- called on Muslims to follow Choudhry’s example: “We ask Allaah for her action to inspire Muslims to raise the knife of Jihaad against those who voted for the countless rapes, murders, pillages, and torture of Muslim civilians as a direct consequence of their vote.”

It also included a list of the 395 MPs who voted for the Iraq war and gave advice on how to “track an MP” or attend a surgery to “encounter them in person”. An external link showed readers where to buy a kitchen knife similar to the one used by Choudhry.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We did get in touch with the US government about it and it has come down.”

21 year-old Roshonara Choudhry, who was jailed for life this week, cited the website as an influence in her attempt to kill East Ham MP Mr Timms at his surgery.

In her police testimony Choudhry said she had been radicalised after “learning more about Islam” online through hundreds of sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki– reportedly the spiritual leader of three of the 9/11 hijackers.

“We did get in touch with the US government about it and it has come down.” Home Office spokesman

Youtube has begun removing hundreds of videos, including clips by al-Awlaki, and says more are being examined.

It comes after security minister Baroness Neville-Jones reportedly asked authorities in private talks at the White House to “take down this hateful material” in cases where servers were based in the US.

A disclaimer on the website today moved to distance itself from the hitlist, stating that “in no, way, shape or form do we call for war against the US government or adhere to the enemies of the United States”.

“This article/video is posted only for educational and informational purposes. The blogger and RevolutionMuslim.com(RM) is not affiliated with any terrorist states or organisations and condemns all forms of terrorism carried out in the name of freedom and democracy.”