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Muslim: I was kidnapped at knifepoint in BNP hate campaign
Tim Stewart27 Aug 2009
A Muslim community leader was kidnapped from his home at knifepoint and ordered to stop holding prayer sessions following a BNP hate campaign.
Noor Ramjanally, from Loughton, Essex, was abducted by two men, bundled into a car boot and driven to Epping Forest.
Today he said he feared he was about to be murdered when one of the kidnappers said: “Let's do it here.” Then they told him: “We don't want the Islamic group in Loughton.”
Mr Ramjanally, 35, has received hate mail threatening his family since he started regular Friday prayer sessions in a community hall in March. Last month his home was firebombed.
The BNP, which has four councillors in the area, has been accused of whipping up racial tensions after it issued an inflammatory leaflet attacking Mr Ramjanally's Islamic community group for hiring the local Murray Hall.
Essex Police confirmed they are treating the kidnapping as a hate crime and are linking it to the two previous incidents and the group's use of the hall.
The BNP strongly denies any responsibility for the crimes.
Mr Ramjanally, a married father of one, was at home alone at 12.15pm on Monday when his doorbell rang.
He said: “When I opened the door, two white men just grabbed me by my wrists and pulled me outside. They put a knife upon my stomach and said to me, Do what you are told or you will get hurt'. I was scared.
“They forced me into the boot of a 4x4 and one of the men held me with a knife to my chest. They drove me to Epping Forest and one said, Do it here'. I thought that my life was over.”
He added: “They walked with me deep into the forest and said: We don't want the Islamic group in Loughton. If you don't stop, we'll come back'. Then they disappeared.
“The men did not say anything about the BNP or who they were. But it is only the BNP who want my Islamic group out of Loughton. I believe the BNP campaign has inspired the violence.”
On 2 July a petrol bomb damaged the front of Mr Ramjanally's house. The next day he received a typed letter that read: “We know which school your kid goes to and which car you drive.”
He said his family is in fear of further attacks but vowed to continue his sessions, which attract 80 worshippers.
The BNP believes the meetings are a precursor to a mosque. Pat Richardson, BNP group leader in Epping Forest, denied the party was behind the attacks, saying: “Firebombing is not a British method. A brick through the window is a British method, but firebombing is not a way of showing displeasure.”
Police said they would work to ensure that all members of the community could practise their religion safely.
Reader views (25)
What have you got to say now? you loony lefties????? all gone a bit quiet i suspect,foot in mouth springs to mind.
- Jackie, England, 04/09/2009 12:21
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Well done to all you guys who spotted this as a fraud!
Reading the other comments here, some real ignorance. Ironically mixed in with accusations of ignorance and the old religion of peace line. You vermin, you traitors.
- James Caine, Witney, Oxfordshire, 04/09/2009 11:10
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Surely there are witnesses to this incident somewhere who can verify this ? I mean, Monday lunchtime, surely there is someone about who would have seen this heinous crime taking place ? You'd spot it, wouldn't you, a man being forcibly pushed into the boot of a 4 x 4 by two assailants or maybe Mr Ramjanally lives in a secluded detached house or farm shut off from the surrounding roads and houses in which case it's me that's got it wrong...................
- Andy Woodhead, London, ENGLAND, 28/08/2009 11:22
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I have just been accused of being a facist in a letter from the BNP. They warn me that 2 Million Turks are about to move into my road - I'm not kidding that is what they wrote to me! They are complete and utter idiots. The problem is that they are DANGEROUS idiots. This is how nazism started too. I live not too far from Mr Ramjanally, but I insist on standing up to these bullies.How on earth have we ended up with nazi councillors and MEPs? It really ISN'T British.
- Richard, Buckhurst hill, Essex, 27/08/2009 23:14
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"“Firebombing is not a British method. A brick through the window is a British method, but firebombing is not a way of showing displeasure.”
Oh. So throwing a brick through the window of a Muslim is ok then? Fools. Time to get tough on the BNP.
- Paulina Smid, London, 27/08/2009 22:30
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What are these BNP all about. Are they the modern equivalent of the Nazis or the other extremist groups which were a common feature in Germany and the UK in the 30s. We cant be serious, to allow them to stand for elections in this country.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK, 27/08/2009 20:55
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I do not believe a word he is saying,I smell a rat
- William Cameron, Londonderry N Ireland, 27/08/2009 20:34
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This really is terrible and sadly not an isolated incident. The police have done little or nothing about this and the scores of recent Islamophobic attacks in Britain (In the last 9 months, racist extremists have fire-bombed 5 seperate Mosques and 1 Muslim Charity up and down the country).
Some people will say its about time that the White community do more to distance themselves from racist extremism and Islamophobia, just as the British Muslim community is continually expected to condemn terror crimes committed by Muslims (some of which committed 8 years ago in another country!!).
Can you imagine the massive public/media outroar if this chap was a Parish priest being abducted by 2 Muslims??!Gordon Brown would be giving emergency speeches by now with President Obama on hold.
Its time for an end to all forms of racism and extremism by anyone, and for the police to start dealing with these matters as if White people were the victims. They have afterall supposedly 'changed' from the "institional racism" of older times havent they?
- Saeed, London, 27/08/2009 18:10
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Why on earth would the man make it all up? The article states that his house was firebombed and he was threatened, and if these incidents did not take place, why are the police taking this matter very seriously? Just because the fascist party has become legitimate, doesn’t hide the fact that they are racists who would resort to violence to make a point!
- Anon, Battersea, UK, 27/08/2009 17:46
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I think this guy is very brave and i hope he does continue to celebrate his religion and culture otherwise they have won, i do believe that the BNP played a big part in this even if they did not tell them to do it they encourage racist views and then act innocent when incidences like this occur,I think it is disgusting that my supposed peers have let a racist organisation like the BNP into trusted positions within local councils. In this day and age we should show respect and love for everyone life is too short to hate people. It drives me crazy because most of the attitudes they promote are wrong but people believe them because they dont want to learn the truth.
- Kay, London, 27/08/2009 17:45
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As much as I am against the policies of the BNP, something doesn't quite ring true here. Firstly, just because a considerable amount of the members of the BNP can be considered racist does not mean that any racist attack is undertaken or even sponsored by them.
Reports regarding Mr Ramjanally started at the start of July, when he complained of racial attacks. This understandably prompted strong feeling within the community however, as soon as the emotion began to die down, the BNP issued a leaflet damning Mr Ramjanally for using the community centre as a Mosque. He identifies the premises as such on his website, despite suggesting that he'd written to the Council denying that they were using the premises for such a purpose. I'm not sure whether or not any kind of permission is needed if using a premise for such a purpose though.
As soon as the emotion that this second news story died down, Mr Ramjanally surfaces blameing the BNP for his kidnap, where he is held at knifepoint and driven to Epping Forest before being left there, unharmed.
Things just don't really seem to add up and I doubt we've heard the last of Mr Ramjanally or the BNP on this issue.
The BNP's quote at the end of the story doesn't really help their cause much though!
- Kieran, Upminster, 27/08/2009 17:15
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I support The Tory party, but some times you can smell a set up a mile away. I think if it had been BNP, they would have left the bloke with a few lumps.They would not have been able to resist it.
- Themanoftruth, United Kingdom, 27/08/2009 16:41
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Like the words of a Johnny Cash song , I blame the government , 'yet again , and again , and again , and again , and again. Ahh do da , do da , do da , do.'[http://Yawn.|http://Yawn.]
- Chris M, morbihan,france, 27/08/2009 13:53
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The BNP has two MEPs as well as members on many councils across the country including London so why on earth would the BNP all of a sudden start to encourage Kidnapping? It truly defies all logic on their part being that they are slowly but surely building up the strengh through the democratic process.
Secondly, to be honest although I believe he has had a lot of past trouble with racists something does not ring right here and I wonder if he was kiddnapped.
- Gary, London, 27/08/2009 13:35
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It's would be interesting to see where you would find the BNP members on a Sunday morning - Church or Pub. I'd suspect the latter.
- Hansel, London, 27/08/2009 13:33
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Ha ha ha. I have to laugh at a chap in Dubai, a beneficiary of quasi-slave labour and countless other abuses, who gives out about events such as these in the UK, which I know are very rare. No grasp of irony there at all, eh?
- James Dewitt, Dublin (ex Rotterdam), 27/08/2009 13:23
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“Firebombing is not a British method. A brick through the window is a British method..." No, that is NOT the British method, its the BNP method, who in my book are not British, they aren't even human.
- Nat, London, 27/08/2009 13:13
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Ignorant people....ignorant people....ignorant people....!
- Tamara, London, 27/08/2009 12:55
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Donaldd, did you leave the UK because you were kidnapped in a race attack? This made the papers because it is thankfully quite rare and, contrary to what you the tabloids and the Tories want you to believe, we are genearlly quite an ordered society. If we want things to stay that way, then we need to resist the BNP and their ilk. Your comment adds no clarification to this issue and does not help. Dubai is hardly a bastion of human rights and freedom, is it?
- Lj, London, 27/08/2009 12:34
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"The BNP strongly denies any responsibility for the crimes."
Well, they would wouldn't they, as they are gutless frauds, who purport to represent English people when, in truth, they represent nobody but their evil-minded, cowardly selves.
- Keith Price, Luton England, 27/08/2009 11:36
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Essex police must put a very major effort into investigating this matter and announce their conclusions as a matter of public interest and as soon as possible.
When an elected political party is accused of kidnapping people it could hardly be more serious for democracy.
- Mike Newland, London, England, 27/08/2009 11:34
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Its a shame but there is only going to be more growing discontent between different communities being forced to live together....this govt has pushed this whole multi cultural agenda too far. Once events like this start to happen the tit for tat begins and it all never ends.
- Ashgl, London, 27/08/2009 11:23
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"A brick through the window is a British method". Oh, that's alright then! MORONS
- Peace Maker, Battersea, 27/08/2009 10:28
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How much more proof do we need that those Nazis, the BNP, are violent, cowardly thugs! A brick through a window is never acceptable in our free,democratic society! We defeated fascism in 1945. Don't let them in by the back door!
- Veritas Noire, Purley, 27/08/2009 10:24
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This is why I have left the UK. It is a shambles.... and only going to get worse
- Donaldd, Dubai, 27/08/2009 09:40
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