DAR AL HARB - U.K.: BRITS ARE PAYING FOR THE JIHAD

UK terror fund cell live on HANDOUTS
By Mazher Mahmood

A MUSLIM fanatic is funding terrorists killing British troops in Afghanistan while SPONGING off our state benefits, the News of the World can reveal.
Gloating extremist Mohammed Nawaz Raja (above left) runs a network of door-to-door money-raisers collecting thousands for his fake ‘charity'.

But householders who stump up thinking they are supporting a religious school are being duped into buying weapons for the Taliban.

The evil godfather of terror claims to have sent them hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Incredibly Nawaz, who owns a five-bedroom £350,00 house, is himself being funded by the taxpayer.

He pockets £250-a-week in handouts — and boasts: "I'm a British national. The government pays me to live."

And referring to his "charity" he adds chillingly: "We are supporting a lot of jihad (holy war) organisations. They need our support. They have to buy weapons!"

We nailed Nawaz, his ‘treasurer' Mohammed Shakeel Akhtar (above right), and his shifty accountant after a perilous three-month investigation by an undercover team of reporters.

We moved in after being tipped off about the militant cell by a concerned Muslim who prays at a mosque in High Wycombe, Bucks.

Our team infiltrated the extremists by visiting the mosque, in Totteridge Road, which is above the controversial Muslim Education Centre.

Last year researchers from the Tory think tank Policy Exchange discovered books at the centre containing extremist material that encouraged jihad against non Muslims.

Our reporter claimed to be a visitor from Kashmir seeking voluntary work to help Muslim brothers around the world—and was soon put in touch with Nawaz, 55, a leading figure at the centre.

Nawaz arranged to meet our reporter at High Wycombe train station. He turned up in a silver Toyota car and asked our man to get inside.

Bearded Nawaz drove for a few minutes before parking the car along a darkened dirt track. There, he leafed through a copy of the Koran and asked a series of questions to satisfy himself we were genuine.

The ex-mini-cab driver, who is originally from Pakistan but has lived here for over 30 years, then explained how he had set up his small madrassa in Pakistan to provide Islamic education for girls locally and from Britain.

He offered our man a job as one of his fundraising team, saying he could collect £600 a week, £200 of which he could keep.

He handed us leaflets—giving his NatWest bank account and details for one in Pakistan—outlining the work of his madrassa, based in Islamabad, which he said were to be handed to people on the doorstep.

Nawaz told our reporter to grow a full beard to appear more religious when knocking on doors. He then gave detailed instructions on how to raise funds and boasted of his own experience in Slough.

"In just four hours, I collected £150 pounds. If you work for four to five hours a day it is very easy."

Yet his organisation is not registered as a charity in Britain and cannot lawfully seek donations. He falsely uses the charity number 1112702, which is registered to the Thara Welfare Trust, a wholly legitimate charity based in High Wycombe, with no involvement with Nawaz or any terrorist activities.

Our man was given digs in a £35-a-week student house in High Wycombe, and joined the group of fundraisers working for Nawaz.

To maintain his cover, he spent two weeks working as a full-time fundraiser for Nawaz, collecting an average of £50 a day in donations. Other collectors covered the Luton, Slough and Birmingham areas raising cash from unsuspecting Muslim families.

But it wasn't long before Nawaz revealed his secret agenda to another member of our undercover team a journalist posing as a wealthy businessman willing to donate to the cause.

"We have the contacts with the jihadis," he confided. "Both in Kashmir, and with Jaish-e-Mohammed."

Jaish-e-Mohammed, formed by Maulana Masood Azhar in 1994, is a banned terrorist organisation which has direct links with Osama Bin Laden.

Azhar is known to have had meetings with the Al-Qaeda terror boss. The group have been responsible for a series of bombings, and a plane hijacking, and the kidnapping of Western tourists. The group were also implicated in the brutal kidnap and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

"Secret funding for Jaish-e-Mohammed is happening," said Nawaz. "I want brothers who will support us. I use this organisation (the madrassa) as an umbrella to support jihadis. Nobody will know." Jihadis are described as "soldiers of Islam" who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause.

Nawaz was keen to boast about his close connections with terrorists.

"In Sadar (Pakistan) I met Jaish-e-Mohammed's Maulana Azhar Sahib. Now I tell you I am secretly giving them money. My friend is sending money on a weekly basis."

Then Nawaz, revealed the ‘treasurer' for the secret money trail to terror—mechanic Mohammed Shakeel Akhtar.

"Although Shakeel is the treasurer, we don't show him as treasurer on papers now, on his request," he explained.

Nawaz added: "In Afghanistan we have a secret link and we send them money there. Money will go inshallah (God willing) direct to Afghanistan and direct to Kashmir.

"We send money via black market through Peshawar. We have transferred hundreds and thousands so far."

Two weeks ago Nawaz travelled to his madrassa in Pakistan taking a hoard of cash with him to pass on to terrorists.

Then, last Saturday Nawaz contacted another of our team, believing him to be involved in terrorism, and asked him to meet in Rawalpindi.

"I have arranged a meeting with a brother who is fighting in Afghanistan against the British and Western non-believers. They need money to buy weapons and armaments," he explained.

"It is also our duty to help the families of those who are becoming martyrs here."

"Bring money with you and you will be able to hand it over. We will travel at night in a jeep to the Pakistan-Afghan border."

On Monday Nawaz instructed our man back in the UK to deliver the money— £40,000 pounds—to Shakeel at an MoT garage in High Wycombe, with instructions for it to be sent out to Pakistan.

Our reporter made it clear what the money was intended for. "It is for our mujahid brothers (religious fighters), the Taliban in Afghanistan," our man told Shakeel.

Secretive Shakeel replied: "He (Nawaz) has just told me that you have some money to give him and when you come I should take you to this guy, and Nawaz will get the money."

But later he said: "It's better that you don't discuss anything with me. If you tell me names and there is action against me, they will force me to tell them. The less people you tell about the system, its better for you and better for me and better for our religious work."

Shakeel said that he would take our man to the contact, adding: "I've already spoken to him. There will be no record of this money. He will do it."

Shakeel then introduced us to the contact, a partner in a firm of accountants.

"This is my friend who sends money. ‘He wants a guarantee that the money will get there,'" Shakeel told him.

The accountant, in his 30s, replied: "No problem we've sent bigger amounts. It'll get to Islamabad."

Since there was no way we would hand him the cash, we told him the money was in Southall, and he was eager to collect it. He exchanged numbers and said: "I'll come and pick it up tonight."

Back in Pakistan, Nawaz reassured us that he would make sure the money went to the right people, though his boast proved taxpayers' cash is going to the wrong person.

"Praise be to Allah I have a car of my own. I have a five bedroom house in High Wycombe. The government is paying me. When I go to Pakistan, my family still gets paid. The system in Britain is that the government pays.

"Take for example a small family with four children, if the husband works he would get £300 to £400 a week. And if he doesn't work the government still pay him around that, so why should he work?

"If he works he gets around £350 a week and if he doesn't he gets £300. For just £50, who would work?" he said.

Terror expert Col Mike Dewar praised the News of the World: "I am full of admiration for your reporters and the risks they have taken to infiltrate what is clearly a very dangerous network.

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Pertinent Links:

1) UK terror fund cell live on HANDOUTS