by SAMERA KHATOON

A BURTON man is ʻconfidentʼ he can recruit thousands of people to join him on an Islamist march through an English town which has become world famous for remembering Britainʼs war dead.

Zakeel Abbas, of Sydney Street, Horninglow, has defended his decision to take part in the procession through Wootton Bassett – the Wiltshire market town which holds silent vigils in honour of the service personnel as their bodies are driven through its streets after being flown home from Afghanistan to nearby RAF Lyneham.

The march will turn this traditional form of commemoration on its head by encouraging members and supporters of Islam4UK – a webbased group which has links to the extremist organisation Al-Muhajiroun – to parade while carrying empty coffins symbolising the lost lives of Muslims the British forces have killed in the conflict.

Mr Abbas, pictured protesting against a parade of soldiers returning from Iraq to Luton last summer, says participants will highlight the ‘plight’ of the innocent victims of an ‘illegal war’.

He said: “The whole point of the procession is to highlight the injustice of the war that’s taking place.

“It’s to show support to the thousands of innocent men, women and children who have been killed in the so-called ‘war on terror’.

“It’s not against the people of Wootton Bassett; it’s to do with the crimes that are being committed in Afghanistan.

“We’re not going there to cause trouble; it’s to highlight the plight of the people of Afghanistan and the massacres that are being caused in the name of freedom by the British Government.”

A date is yet to be set for the demonstration, for which permission has not been sought from Wiltshire Police or the local authority, but Mr Abbas is confident he can attract thousands of Muslims from the Burton area to take part.

He said: “My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since we decided we were going to do this. I’ve got three coaches so far, so about 300 people, and I’m confident of a final total of at least 1,500 to 2,000 people. I know we can generate this many people to come to this procession from the contacts I’ve got.”

A spokesman for the Burton Muslim Unity Forum said the location of the march was ‘unfortunate’.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Dawud Price said: “We recognise the right of anybody to demonstrate about anything as long as it’s lawful and we think the choice of venue for this particular procession is unfortunate.”

Nationally, the march has been condemned by the Pime Minister, Gordon Brown, and a group has been set up on the social networking site Facebook urging Islam4UK to abandon its plans.

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/burtonmail-news/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=474581