'Lyrical terrorist' who wrote poems about beheading escapes jail

Samina Malik, a 23-year-old former Heathrow Airport worker called herself the "lyrical terrorist", and wrote poems called How To Behead and The Living Martyrs.

Malik, described as an unlikely but committed Islamic extremist, was last month convicted by an Old Bailey jury of a charge under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Today Judge Peter Beaumont, the Recorder of London, gave her a nine month suspended jail sentence. But Muslim leaders also stepped up to attack the system which they say singles out Muslims.

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Jurors had heard that Malik stocked a "library" of material useful to terrorists at her family home in Townsend Road, Southall, west London.

Malik, who worked airside at WHSmith at Heathrow, wrote on the back of a till receipt: "The desire within me increases every day to go for martyrdom."

The lengthy ramblings about firing rocket launchers and "taking part in the blessed forgotten sacred death of Jihad" were found when police searched her home.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, told the court Malik visited a website linked to jailed cleric Abu Hamza and stored material about weapons.

The court also heard she belonged to a social networking website called Hi-5, describing her interests as "helping the mujaheddin in any way I can".

Under favourite TV shows, she listed: "Watching videos by my Muslim brothers in Iraq, yep the beheading ones, watching video messages by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri and other videos which show massacres of the kaffirs."

But Malik told the jury she only adopted her "lyrical terrorist" nickname because she thought it was "cool" and insisted: "I am not a terrorist."

Her conviction has led to criticism by Muslim leaders. Muhammed Abdul Bari, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, told today's Times newspaper he did not think the case should have been taken to court.

"Many young people download objectionable material from the internet, but it seems if you are a Muslim then this could lead to criminal charges, even if you have absolutely no intention to do harm to anyone else.

"Samina's so-called poetry was certainly offensive but I don't believe this case should really have been a criminal matter.

"Young people may well have some silly thoughts. That should not be criminalised. It is their actions that we should be concerned about."