British mosque leader praises religious extremist killer who was hanged for murdering politician

The leader of one of Britain's biggest mosques has voiced his praise for a religious extremist who was executed for murdering a politician.

Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman of the Glasgow Central Mosque - the largest in Scotland - supported killer Mumtaz Qadri in a series of WhatsApp messages.



Qadri was hanged in Pakistan in February after he gunned down a politician who opposed the country's strict blasphemy laws.

The messages, seen by the BBC, detail how the Imam was "disturbed" to hear of his death and gave him the religious blessing usually reserved for devout Muslims.

Imam Maulana Habib Ur Rehman said he is "disturbed" and "upset", before writing "rahmatullahi alai", meaning may God's mercy be upon him.


In another message, he wrote: "I cannot hide my pain today. A true Muslim was punished for doing which [sic] the collective will of the nation failed to carry out."

The imam claimed the messages were taken out of context and that he was expressing his opposition to capital punishment.

He told the BBC: "The assassination of Salman Taseer is widely condemned.