He was instrumental in developing Hizb ut-Tahrir in the United Kingdom before leaving the group and heading to another Islamist organisation, Al-Muhajiroun, until its disbandment in 2004.
For several years, Bakri was one of the highest-profile Islamists based in London and was frequently quoted and interviewed in the UK media.
[1] He has been described as "closely linked to al-Qaeda"[2]—having released prepared statements from Osama bin Laden after the 1998 United States embassy bombings[3]—but also as the "Tottenham Ayatollah", "little more than a loudmouth", and "a figure of fun".
[5] Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said on 12 November 2010 that Bakri was among 54 people sentenced by a military court to life in prison with hard labour after being accused of acts of terrorism.
Bakri was born into a wealthy family in the city of Aleppo, Syria, his father was Syrian, while his mother was Turkish.
[8][9] According to Jon Ronson, Bakri claimed that his family had "chauffeurs and servants and palaces in Syria, Turkey and Lebanon".
[11] Throughout his life, Bakri said that he joined many Islamic movements including Muslim Students, Ebad ul-Rahman, al-Ikhwan (al-Tali'ah section),[citation needed] and Hizb ut Tahrir.
According to ex-Hizb ut-Tahrir associate Maajid Nawaz, Bakri encouraged its members to engage in vigilantism against non-Muslims and Muslim women: "We were encouraged by Omar Bakri to operate like street gangs and we did, prowling London, fighting Indian Sikhs in the west and African Christians in the east.
"[18] According to The Times, Bakri was left alone by British law prior to July 2005 despite actions such as an issuing a fatwa "containing a death threat against President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan" because: Bakri, who acts as [al-Muhajiroun's] spiritual leader, insisted that his followers obey a "covenant of security" which, while encouraging terror abroad, forbade them from carrying out attacks in Britain.
[4] The same article reports "The Sunday Times has identified more than a dozen members of ALM who have taken part in suicide bombings or have become close to Al-Qaeda and its support network", including Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, "a computer expert now in a Pakistani prison"; Zeeshan Siddiqui, from Hounslow, west London; Bilal Mohammed from Birmingham; and Asif Hanif.
[22] On 6 August 2005, Bakri left the United Kingdom following stories that the UK Government were planning to investigate certain Muslim clerics under little-used treason laws.
He was banned from returning by British Home Secretary Charles Clarke stating that Bakri's presence in Britain was "not conducive to the public good".
"[25][26] During an online question-and-answer session, a Vigil member asked Bakri if Dublin Airport should be a terrorist target because U.S. troops transit there on the way to Iraq.
[28] Omar Bakri featured live from Lebanon alongside Reza Aslan in Los Angeles, and Benazir Bhutto in the studio in London with Maryam Namazie.
[29][30] According to ex-Hizb ut-Tahrir member Maajid Nawaz, Bakhri's daughter, Yasmin Fostok, "grew so disillusioned with her father's rhetoric that in one monumental act of defiance she left home and became a stripper".
[34] Former Conservative MP Rupert Allason described him as a "terrorist who believes in planting bombs and blowing up women and children in Israel".
[35] Roland Jacquard, a French expert on Islamic terrorism, said that "every al-Qaeda operative recently arrested or identified in Europe had come into contact with Bakri at some time or other".
[36] In January 2005, The Times monitored live, 90-minute internet lectures from Bakri in a chatroom in which he told listeners, "I believe the whole of Britain has become Dar al-Harb (land of war).
"[37] Andrew Dismore, a Labour MP, claimed that "With these words he may well be committing offences under the Terrorism Act and other legislation.
The money was held under the Proceeds of Crime Act, pending an investigation, but Fostok was allowed to board his flight.
Ronson depicts Bakri as a charismatic orator who tells a cheering crowd of 5000 that "he will not rest" until he sees "the Black Flag of Islam flying over Downing Street", and calls for the stoning of fornicators and closing of pubs.
[42][43] In a phone call after the 9/11 attack on the evening of his arrest and release without charge, Ronson reports Bakri as telling him, Oh Jon, I need you more than ever now.
During the interview, Bakri said, "I left Britain on my own accord though I have not been accused of anything there or in Lebanon ... but the London attacks are the reason I have returned".
"[45] In mid-November 2010, Bakri was sentenced to life in prison in Lebanon in a terrorism case that he claimed to know nothing about, but was subsequently released on bail when witnesses who testified against him withdrew their testimony.
In April 2014, his home was raided by Lebanese security forces because of his alleged involvement in fighting between the area's Alawite community and local Sunnis.
[47] In May 2014 he was arrested in the city of Aley and, in a press conference, the Lebanese Interior Minister, Nouhad Machnouk, alleged that Bakri "has contributed in every aspect in supporting terrorism".
[46] In October 2014, Bakri was sentenced to six years in prison with hard labour by a Lebanese court for founding a Lebanese affiliate of the Al-Qaeda linked Syrian terrorist group Al-Nusra Front, and of building a training camp for Nusra Front fighters in Lebanon.
The following year, two of Bakri's sons were killed fighting in the ranks of rival extremist group the Islamic State.