HUNDREDS of donors have pledged their support for an advocacy group that defended Jihadi John and was accused by Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, of being “apologists for terror”.
The group, called Cage, has tapped into grassroots support, raising more than £18,000 in the past few days through an online appeal after its bank accounts were closed and its main charity backers were forced to stop funding it.
Some donors, including a former BT manager, have made individual pledges of up to £1,000 over the internet. One described Cage as “an inspiration”, while another hoped that his donation would grant him “jannah”, the Muslim term for paradise after death.
This weekend it emerged that the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), which paid £271,250 to Cage, also supported an Islamic organisation that campaigned for the release of a cleric convicted of bombing the World Trade Center.
The Quaker charity awarded £60,000 between 2005 and 2007 to the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), during a period when it produced a 16-page dossier calling on Muslims to campaign for the release of Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.
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He was convicted of the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 and found guilty of conspiracy to murder Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president. The IHRC document described him as a victim of “oppression and injustice” and accused the judge of being a “known Zionist”.
The Charity Commission is expected shortly to publish a critical report after a 16-month investigation into whether funds given to Cage by JRCT were used exclusively for charitable purposes.
Asim Qureshi, Cage’s research director, recently provoked outrage by describing Mohammed Emwazi as a “beautiful young man” and for suggesting the murderer was radicalised as a result of “harassment” from MI5.
Emwazi was a “client” of Cage from 2009 to 2012, before he travelled to Syria and ended up joining Isis, also known as Islamic State, and gaining worldwide notoriety as Jihadi John.
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Cage, which was set up by Moazzam Begg, a former British terrorist suspect held at Guantanamo Bay, has faced financial difficulties since its accounts with Barclays and the Co-operative Bank were suddenly closed last summer.
Last week it moved to exploit publicity from the Emwazi case by launching an online “crowd-funding” appeal to continue with its work to “empower communities impacted by the war on terror”.
Its fundraising page features an image of Aafia Siddiqui, a woman who has been jailed in America for shooting at US troops in Afghanistan.
Last year Emwazi asked for Siddiqui to be released in exchange for James Foley, an American journalist held hostage by Isis in Syria who was later decapitated.
By last night Cage had received more than 300 donations towards its target of £100,000. Many pledges have been made by Muslims, but a significant number are from those of other religions.
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The two highest pledges of £1,000 each were made by Frank Kaufhold, 63, a former BT executive from Ipswich, and Maryam Rao, 34, from southwest London.
Kaufhold wrote alongside his pledge: “Supporting freedom means supporting Cage.” When contacted at home yesterday, a man answering the telephone said “F*** off” before hanging up.
Rao’s online message simply stated: “May Allah reward you and protect you.” When contacted on Friday evening, she said: “I can’t talk. I’m at work at the moment.”
At least four people have pledged £500 each, including a student from Blackburn. One woman donated £100, adding the message: “You are an inspiration.”
Another donor appears to be Abdur Raheem Green, a Muslim convert and hardline preacher who has claimed that the 7/7 and 9/11 attacks may have been carried out by the West.
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The preacher, a former pupil at Ampleforth College, is followed on Twitter by a Muslim group run by Emwazi’s younger brother, Omar. He used his real name, Anthony Green, to sign the Cage appeal page.
Muhammad Azzam gave £10 in the hope that he would enter paradise: “I have to be with the oppressed to get jennah [sic].”