A man has been convicted of the Daesh-inspired murder of an imam in Rochdale.
Mohammed Syeedy was today found guilty at Manchester Crown Court (Crown Square) of the murder of Jalal Uddin, who died after being attacked in a park in February.
Syeedy and his accomplice, Mohammed Abdul Kadir, now believed to be in Syria, had planned their attack over many months before bludgeoning Jalal Uddin to death as he walked home from evening prayers at his mosque.
Uddin was killed because he practised something known as Ruqya, a form of healing in which he used amulets called Taweez. His attackers, followers of a strand of Islam known as Salafism – the same strand as Daesh – believed this practice to be punishable by death.
Sue Hemming, Head of CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said:
“The prosecution proved that Syeedy believed Jalal Uddin to be practising black magic and, inspired by the teachings of Daesh, that the victim deserved to die for that belief. Syeedy and his accomplice stalked Jalal Uddin round the streets before attacking him and leaving him to die.
“The poisonous ideology of Daesh cannot be allowed to sow division in our society and those who carry out or encourage violence in its name will be prosecuted.
“Our thoughts are with Mr Uddin’s family and friends.”
