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January 14, 2008

UK: Muslim Gang Culture: Coming Soon to a Town Near You? (1 of 3)

This article by Adrian Morgan (Giraldus Cambrensis of Western Resistance) appeared today in Family Security Matters and is reproduced with their permission.

Britain's Muslim Gang Culture: Coming Soon to a Town Near You?
Part One of Three

The Muslim Boys

On Wednesday January 4, 2006 a black mother gave evidence at an inquest. At Southwark Coroners Court in southeast London, Ruth Marriott spoke of the last days of her son Adrian Marriott. He had been an accountancy student, but was also a gang member, belonging to the Peel Den Crew. He had been shot five times in the head on June 8, 2004, a few weeks before his 21st birthday. His body was found in parkland off Barrington Road in Brixton.

52-year old Ruth Marriott told the inquest: "We heard the shooting. We heard gun fire. The thought did strike me that Adrian could be involved, but it was a fleeting thought. Then we heard from police the following evening what had happened. Adrian was told on the Sunday prior to his death that he would be killed if he did not become a Muslim by the Wednesday, which was the day he died."

John Sampson, the coroner, asked if her son had taken the threat seriously. She answered: "I do not think he did." Sampson later declared that Adrian Marriot had been unlawfully killed.

Ruth Marriott had last seen her son on the day before he died. She said: "He was happy. He was pestering me to order something for him out of my catalogue. He liked music and football, but Adrian was very much a family man. He also loved his dog. They would go out together regularly to the park that he died in."

The gang that had ordered Adrian Marriott to convert to Islam is called The Muslim Boys. Until the killing its ascendancy had passed mainly unnoticed by the media. The Muslim Boys were viewed as just another of the many gangs that operated in south London, with names such as the Stockwell Crew, the Peel Den Crew, Mad Crew or Mad4T, the SMS (South Man Syndicate, also known as South Man Dem) and PDC (Poverty Driven Children). The police took the threat of the Muslim Boys more seriously. When Adrian Marriott's funeral took place in Brixton, the ceremony was guarded by armed police.

The Muslim Boys drew their recruits, mainly young black youths, from Brixton, Peckham, Lambeth, and Streatham. They targeted run-down housing projects such as the Angel Town Estate in Brixton where Adrian Marriott lived with his mother, his brother David, sister Tara and other siblings. The gang's core membership originally came from another housing project in Brixton called the Myatt's Field Estate. The Muslim Boys would make most of their income by committing robberies, stealing from drug dealers and laundering money. They gained a fearsome reputation amongst their peers through their forced conversions to Islam.

Before Adrian Marriott was given the order to convert to Islam or die, his sister Tara had already become a target of the Muslim Boys. Tara Marriott and her friend Jade Okai had given in to the gang's demands and had converted. They were given hijabs, Muslim headscarfs, which they were ordered to wear. They were also given Muslim books, DVDs and copies of the Koran, by two men who would later be charged with Adrian's murder.

In September 2005 three young men, Marcus Archer, Aaron Irving-Simpson and Marlon Stubbs, all aged 24, stood trial for the murder of Adrian Marriott. A jury at the Old Bailey heard that a few days before his murder, Adrian had told his brother that Marlon Stubbs and two other individuals had threatened him at gunpoint and demanded £500 ($979). Shortly after this, Marriott and an associate had "accosted" Archer at Loughborough Junction train station. Stubbs then telephoned Marriot's sister Tara and said: "Your brother is a little tadpole. He just messed with a big shark, a whale." Stubbs already had a conviction for raping two schoolgirls.

The trial soon collapsed, and two of the accused were set free. Marcus Archer was jailed for eight years for illegal possession of a firearm. When Archer was arrested for Marriott's murder outside a Croydon mosque in July 2004, a loaded gun was found in his pocket. No-one from the gang has been convicted of Adrian Marriott's killing. Though he belonged to a gang, Marriott's mother Ruth said of him: "Adrian was my protector. He always looked after me."

A month after Adrian Marriott was killed, apparently with five machine gun bullets fired at close range into his skull, one of his friends had tried to exact "street justice" upon Aaron Irving-Simpson of the Muslim Boys gang. Nyrome Hinds attacked Irving-Simpson at a bus stop in Norwood. During the subsequent fight, Hinds pulled out a machine gun and a standard pistol. He was later sentenced to 14 years' jail. The £13,505 cash ($26,432) he had with him at the time of his arrest was forfeited by Inner London Crown court on December 21, 2005.

In 2005, about 20 "hardcore" members of the Muslim Boys gang were in jail, but prison was just another place to continue intimidation and recruitment. In February of that year, a journalist from the Evening Standard newspaper interviewed one of the Muslim Boys. 21-year old Winston had been "converted" in prison. He said: "Now we all go to mosque together. If I refuse, they blow [shoot] me, innit. I pray twice a day: before I do crime, and after. I ask Allah for a blessing when I'm out on the street. Afterwards, I apologise to Allah for what I done."

Winston, who claimed to support Osama bin Laden, described his love of knives and spoke casually of the arsenal of guns possessed by gang members. These included Mac-10 machine pistols. He boasted of the money that the gang made from robberies, and said: "Then, after midnight me and my bruvs go to mosque to pray."

Imams in south London were intimidated to make them open their mosques to allow Muslim Boys gang members to pray after hours. The chairman of Brixton mosque, Abdul Haqq Baker, said of the gang's behavior: "What we are seeing is a new phenomenon that I have not seen in my 15 years as a Muslim." In January 2005, Brixton and Stockwell mosques publicly declared that there were "criminals masquerading as Muslims" who threatened the reputation of genuine Islam.

Operation Trident was a police initiative to combat the escalating cases of black-on-black gun crime, then headed by Detective Chief Superintendent John Coles. A police statement read: "Trident are aware of a number of young black males in South London who call themselves the Muslim Boys, and are involved in gun and drug related offences. Some of these individuals claim to have converted to Islam, although their beliefs are not recognized by genuine Muslims within the community."

One officer from Operation Trident, Detective Sergeant Gary Friar, has claimed that the Muslim Boys use kids to deal drugs for them and to carry weapons. He said in 2006: "They employ runners as young as 12 or 13. Most of these kids join gangs under duress. The majority are from deprived backgrounds and estates where they come into contact with older gang members. The Myatt's Field Estate in Brixton, for instance, has a core of four or five ringleaders who put pressure on younger kids to deal drugs for them."

"A lot of these youngsters don't want to get involved but they are subjected to physical violence or threatened with firearms. Older gang members don't want to get their hands dirty. They don't want to get caught with the drugs. They would rather make a phone call to have their gun delivered as and when they need it rather than carry it around and face five years in prison."

A month after Marlon Stubbs had walked free from the Old Bailey courtroom, he was again arrested, following an incident in Condell Road in Battersea, southwest London. He and another Muslim Boys gang-member, Stefon Thomas, had been identified by eyewitnesses after a family was shot at in the street. On October 10, 2005, Marlon Crooks had been proudly displaying his new BMW convertible to his relatives. A gang approached and opened fire on Crooks, his eight-year-old daughter, his mother, grandmother, sister and brother. Providentially, no-one was hit by the bullets.

Stubbs, Thomas, and another Muslim Boys gang member, 20-year old Sanjit Webster, were charged with attempted murder at an Old Bailey trial. The jury failed to convict them on these charges, but on November 28, 2006, all three were jailed for possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

When Stubbs and Webster had been arrested, they were in a taxi traveling from Brixton to Stratford on November 3, 2005. This was the last day of Ramadan, Islam's holy month, when Muslims are traditionally urged to abstain from battles. They had been overheard saying: "When Ramadan ends, the snake is going to strike."

On the same day that Stubbs, Webster and Thomas were jailed, three members of the Muslim Boys gang were convicted of a killing which had taken place shortly after Adrian Marriott had been "executed" for failing to convert to Islam. On August 1, 2005, a 23-year old nursing assistant called Charles Anokye was with a friend at the Mass nightclub at St Matthew's Church, Effra Road, Brixton. Both men worked at the Rosedale Nursing Home in Tooting Broadway.

During a three-month trial at the Old Bailey, Anokye's friend James Idamakin testified that they had both been dancing when another man had said: "You're blocking my view." Charles Anokye had knocked another dancer with his drink bottle, and Idamakin had excused his friend by saying that Anokye was drunk, and had not intended that to happen. They left the club at 4 am, and Idamakin told the court that he had seen the Muslim Boys running out of the club.

"I saw Charles with some boys.They were running after him. There were about six of them. They were kicking and punching him. He was on his feet then he fell," Idamakin said.

The court was shown closed circuit television footage of Charles Anokye being kicked, punched and stabbed. Two other people testified after being placed under a witness protection program. Anokye received 13 knife wounds to his chest and back and died. His assailants rifled his pockets for money as he lay bleeding to death in the street.

17-year old Anwar Hussain was convicted of murder. Two accomplices, 18-year old Edwin Bamfo and 20-year old Aaron Roberts were convicted of manslaughter. 18-year old Rico Tracey and 17-year old Ben Jatto, were cleared of killing but were convicted of violent disorder. One other individual was cleared of involvement, and the jury could not reach a decision on two other defendants, who were to face a retrial.

Hussain was later given a life sentence, while Bamfo and Roberts received a ten year jail term. Bamfo, who had formerly held ambitions to represent Britain as an Olympic sprinter, later had his jail sentence reducued to eight years. Ben Jatto received an 18-month jail term and Rico Tracey was jailed for two years.

Tracey's girlfriend Fatima Cardoso was given a three year jail sentence for perjury in July 2007. She had provided a false alibi for Tracey during his trial, and had continued to lie when tried for perjury.

In September 2006, another member of the Muslim Boys gang was jailed for 10 years for weapons possession. 22-year old Joel Simmonds had a Mac-10 with 10 rounds of ammunition, as well as a stun gun and body armor.

In the same month, the South London Press reported that with many of their leading players in jail, police were claiming that the fearsome reputation of the Muslim Boys was fading.

Ruth Marriott was skeptical. She said: "I don't think this is the end. The courts are too lenient and these guys are treated like royalty in prison. They regroup inside and come out with even more confidence... The Muslim connection is a load of crap. They use it to hide their evil deeds behind. I know true Muslims and they would never behave like this."

Though there may be fewer active members of the Muslim Boys on the streets of south London, their activities in jail are still giving Britain's prison service a headache.

Belmarsh Blues

Many of the Muslim Boys gang members were incarcerated at Belmarsh, a prison that was constructed in 1991. This prison has traditionally housed the majority of Britain's convicted Muslim terrorists. One of its notorious inmates is hook-handed Abu Hamza al-Masri, former firebrand preacher at the Finsbury Park Mosque. A serving prison officer at HMP Belmarsh has recently stated: "The highest-risk prisoners are kept in the High Security Unit. It's a jail within a jail. The talk of the unit is always Abu Hamza. None of the prisoners ever bother him. A lot of the Muslim Boys look up to him. In addition to a portable TV, he has his own laptop provided by the Prison Service, a few books and a prayer mat."

Inside Belmarsh jail, the Muslim Boys have imported their savage and ferocious behavior. They have carved for themselves a unique position within the prison hierarchy, feared by inmates and treated with caution by prison officers. To achieve this, they have violently attacked inmates and staff alike.

In December 2005, a leaked internal security report from the jail stated: "Prisoners reported abuse, assaults, intimidation and threats. Some of the atrocities were carried out with impunity during associations causing victims to fear for their lives. Most of the perpetrators are believed to be members of the Muslim Boys gang who intensified their drive to recruit other prisoners to the fold. They force prisoners to accept the Muslim faith - those who refuse suffer assaults. They promise potential converts protection from other prisoners and staff who they challenge at every opportunity."

A month later, a source inside the prison stated: "The Muslim Boys' gangmaster orders most of the assaults on fellow prisoners. They rule through fear and are very hard to infiltrate."

In a vain attempt to control the violence led by the Muslim Boys gang, one gang leader was transferred in December 2005 to Brixton jail. This individual was said to have had "An extensive custodial history of drugs, assaults and threats of assaults to both staff and fellow prisoners." Another Muslim Boys leader was sent to Whitemoor jail in Cambridgeshire. This man was described in the leaked security report: "In league with others he engaged in intimidation, assaults and recruitment of others into the Muslim Boys Gang/Muslim religion. The membership's aim is to confront staff and cause major disruptions to good in the prison. Has been seen, along with two others, going round the landing tooled up [carrying weapons]."

In February 2006, a prominent member of the Muslim Boys gang led an attack upon prison staff that led to a riot in the prison's high security unit. A prison guard was set upon by two inmates. Two of these were Muslim Boys gang members. Another prisoner then joined in. The officer was hit around his head and upper body with a pool cue and also a sock that had been filled with cans of tuna. He received cuts and needed hospital treatment. The incident led to further violence in which two other prison guards were also attacked. One of these was punched and kicked in the shower block of the unit, and the other was assaulted in the medical treatment room. About ten prisoners and ten staff fought with each other, and five prisoners were given disciplinary action.

On Good Friday, April 14 2006, one member of the Muslim Boys was "punished" for trying to convert out of Islam. When the Belmarsh prisoner was in the toilet, eight Muslim Boys gang members attacked him. The victim received head injuries. When prison officers tried to intervene, they too were attacked. The Home Office denied that the attack had been a serious incident, but a spokesperson said that four men were being subjected to "administrative action."

In May 2007, a leading member of the Muslim Boys gang again led an attack upon Belmarsh prison staff. On the morning of May 4, this individual was asked to hand over his laptop computer to a prison officer. In March 2006 the prison had controversially authorized the issue of laptop computers costing £1,000 apiece ($1,958) to 28 of the prisoners in the jail, including terror suspects and Abu Hamza. The prison authorities argued that these computers were to be used for prisoners to prepare their legal defenses.

The Muslim Boys gang member had been suspected of using a smuggled card to enable his laptop computer to be connected to the internet. He refused to give the computer to the officer and then punched and kicked him. Other prisoners then joined in, brandishing pool cues. When the security alarm was sounded, three more prison officers were attacked, in what was regarded by staff as a pre-planned assault. One of the prison officers received a broken chin and another underwent shoulder injuries.

The nefarious activities of the Muslim Boys have continued inside Belmarsh. On Tuesday last week, the Daily MIrror reported that a plot by the Muslim Boys to hold a prison officer as a hostage had been foiled. The act was to have been carried out as a "spectacular show of strength" by the gang, prison officers claimed. On Christmas Eve, plans of the prison's accommodation and the alarm system had been found in the possession of one prisoner. A prison source told the Mirror: "We understand some prisoners were plotting to maim or even kill a staff member after holding him hostage. It was designed to be high profile and high impact... There is a sense of relief that a major plot has been scuppered. But at the same time it has heightened fears that the safety of staff can no longer be guaranteed."

The Muslim Boys are in no way typical of either Muslim gangs in Britain, nor the "traditional" gangs that inhabit Britain's largest cities. Some police have suggested that they emerged after 9/11, and their claims to support Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda are part of a campaign to intimidate and rule by fear. Their rule on the streets of South London may, for a while a least, lack influence. In Belmarsh, a Category A jail where some of Britain's worst terrorists are housed, it appears that their campaign of fear is showing no signs of going away.

In Part Two, I will describe how young British Muslims, alienated from their parents' traditional cultures, have been drawn into gangs. The activities of some of these gang members are just as disturbing as those of the "Muslim Boys".

Adrian Morgan

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Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 14, 2008 5:58 AM

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Posted by: Dinah Lord at January 19, 2008 9:50 PM

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