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Al-Shabab threaten to kill Ajmal Masroor

International

Something very strange happened to me last night. I was at home, I had put the kids to bed and busy with sorting out the Qurbani meat. There was a knock at the door. I was not expecting anyone especially so late in the evening. I opened the door and there were two smartly dressed gentlemen standing right in front of me. They both looked at me and introduced themselves as police officers from the Scotland Yard, special branch. They held their badges. They asked me if they could come in as they had something very important to tell me. I was surprised and unsure of what to expect. I invited them in and they followed me to the kitchen. As they sat down, they pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on the kitchen table. There was a paragraph written in English across it.

I stood by the table and read it. The officers offered to read the content of the paper loudly for me to hear. I absorbed the content and did not know how to react. The officers were looking at my face and waiting for a response. I do not get shaken that quickly and fear does not absorb me swiftly. 

The basic message contained in the paragraph was that my life was in imminent danger from the terrorists. The police officers were visiting me to give me a warning and asking me to be more vigilant. They were being the messengers. They left me a telephone number to call in case of emergency or if I felt under any immediate danger. They did not give me any further details and left me guessing. 

As soon as they left my house I started digging further and found an Al-Shabab video has been uploaded on the Internet and in it they name me as a Muslim who is an enemy of Islam and should be eliminated. They name a few others in their video message and encourage people to resort to using knives to behead people like me. I spend some time today to verify the threat and it was confirmed to me that it was this video that had spurred our security services to action. 

My reaction is simple – if my death has been destined at a particular place, in a particular way and at a particular time, there is nothing in the world that can alter or avert it. Conversely if my life has been destined to run for a specific period there is no power in the world that can shorten it. I shall continue doing what I believe is right and true despite threats and I shall speak out loud and clearly against extremism and terrorism no matter how many threats I receive. Ultimately the extremists would run out of steam and the terrorists would fizzle out, but moderation, fairness and truth will always prevail.

27684 views 1 comments Al-Shabab Terrorism 

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