Bring back Shamima Begum and put her on trial

The Holy Quran says imprison or deport those who create disruption in the land

The Holy Quran (Chapter 5, verse 33) lays down punishments for those who commit murder or “create fasad on earth”, that is those who create wickedness, depravity, disorder, destruction. Among others, one punishment is to imprison them, which some also interpret as deporting such people to other countries. But earlier in the same chapter the Holy Quran also says: “let not hatred of a people — because they hindered you from the Sacred Mosque — incite you to transgress. And help one another in righteousness and piety, and help not one another in sin and aggression.” Accordingly the accused, in this case, Shamima Begum, has the right to face his or her accuser and to defence. These principles are common to Islamic and British jurisprudence.

The media reports tell us that she was groomed in the same way as the girls in Rochdale were groomed, and abused in the same way. By revoking her nationality, the Home Secretary has made her stateless in violation of the clear international conventions to which Britain is a signatory. From a legal and moral point of view, the just course of action to follow is to bring her back, to put her on trial for the evil that she has perpetrated and allow her to defend herself. Let her peers decide on her guilt and let a judge decide her punishment, as required by British Law. Remember, there is also the question of the life of a little baby who is a British national.

Let us not fall to level of ISIS and Shamima Begum. Let us take the moral high ground and show the world how we are better than they are!

The Ahmadiyya Association for the Propagation of Islam (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaʻat Islam) was established in Lahore in 1914 to promote the informed understanding of Islam in the West. In the UK it operated the Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking until the early 1960s. Its new headquarters is at Dar-us-Salaam, 15 Stanley Avenue, Wembley, HA0 4JQ, UK. In 1924, in Berlin, it built the first mosque in Continental Europe of the modern era. The German Government recognises the Berlin Mosque as part of the German national heritage. From its European and other centres around the world this organisation has taught that Islam promotes peace, harmony and mutual respect between all communities and nationalities.

• Submissions in 2016 to UK Parliament Inquiries:
  • Countering Extremism
    • Our submission: pdf • html
  • Sharia Councils:
    • Our submission: pdf • html