January 26, 2003
DANGIT, WE ORDERED A SURPLICE, NOT ARMY SURPLUS:
Chemical war suits in London mosque (Hala Jaber and David Leppard, January 26, 2003, The Sunday Times)DETECTIVES investigating a plot by Islamic terrorists to carry out a chemical weapons attack in Britain have found chemical warfare protection suits at a mosque in north London.The NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) suits were discovered during a raid by 150 police officers on the Finsbury Park mosque last Monday. Informed sources said the discovery confirmed growing fears by police and MI5 that a chemical attack is being planned by supporters of Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda movement in Britain.
Police announced after the raid they had seized a small arsenal of weapons including a stun gun, an imitation firearm and a CS gas canister.
But discovery of the NBC suits has been kept a closely guarded secret known only to a handful of senior officers. Ministers are acutely aware that any suggestion that the mosque may have been involved with chemical weapons could inflame racial tensions. Seven men - six north Africans and one eastern European - were arrested during the raid. Last night two were still being held under the terrorism act.
Our father, The Reverend Orrin D. Judd, used to have a pair of hip waders for when he baptized folks, maybe this is similar. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 26, 2003 4:57 PM
If Moslems flying airplanes into buildings full
of, for the most part, Christians and Jews, was
not sufficient to inflame racial (or, to be more
precise, religious) tensions, I don't see what
the ministers are worried about.
There were plenty of Muslims in the WTC also Harry.
Anyway I've been scanning the responses of various Muslim groups in the UK to these raids and most of them twitter on about how respect needs to be shown to places of worship.
And I sit there wondering exactly when they'll realise these nutjobs need to be caught as soon as possible before another catastrophe occurs.
Ali:
That's what I don't get: after the weapons, chemicals, and suits are found, how do folks still convince themselves this is a vendetta? Those groups should get out front--it's their society too.
Were there enough suits for the entire congregation?
If so, wow.
If not, what does the rest of the congregation think?
I said "for the most part," Ali.
Here's the problem. If the Islamic
murderers cannot or will not distinguish
among co-religionists, how am I -- an
outsider -- supposed to do so?
As you imply, it would help of the
peaceful religionists would make some
gestures to help distinguish. If they don't,
and they get mistaken for the bad guys
and wiped off the map, well, "the rain
it falleth on the just and on the unjest
fella, but more upon the just, because
the unjust has his umbrella." (Gelett
Burgess)