Murdered Muslim shopkeeper's family fear for their lives from hardline Islamic factions

superbeets · Mar 27, 2016

[h=2]Asad Shah's wife and siblings pay tribute to him on the condition their names are not published for fear of retribution[/h]

Asad Shah (inset) was stabbed to death in Glasgow

By Simon Johnson

12:58PM BST 27 Mar 2016 Telegraph

superbeets · Mar 27, 2016

The family of a popular Muslim shopkeeper who was murdered after posting an online Easter message to “my beloved Christian nation” has disclosed they fear for their lives following the brutal attack.

Asad Shah’s wife and siblings said they had been left “heartbroken” by the killing and they had been overwhelmed by the messages of support they had received from the local community in the Shawlands area of Glasgow.

But they only spoke on the condition their names were not published for fear of retribution and disclosed they have been advised by the police to be careful what they say in order to protect their security.

Asad Shah who was stabbed to death outside his Glasgow newsagents only hours after posting a Happy Easter message on social media Photo: SWNS

The family, originally from Pakistan, are members of the Ahmadiyya Islamic sect, which preaches “love for all, hatred for none”. However, it has faced persecution in some parts of the world from more hardline Muslim factions.

Police Scotland arrested a 32-year-old Muslim man on Friday and confirmed they were treating the attack as “religiously prejudiced”. He has since been charged and will appear in court on Tuesday.

Asad Shah's shop

superbeets · Mar 27, 2016

Mr Shah, 40, was found with serious injuries in Glasgow’s Shawlands area on Thursday night. He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A family member told the Sunday Herald: “We have been advised by the police not to speak about it, particularly about our names and locations, because there is a security threat. Actually, we cannot describe what we are going through. We are heartbroken.”
One of Mr Shah’s younger brothers told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: “We are still coming to terms with what happened and we have to be careful now about our own security.

“We are scared for our lives. The police have told us to be careful about what we say and we do no want to give our names to protect our security.”
He said Mr Shah was “in love” with his adopted homeland, even referring to Shawlands as “Shahlands.” The eldest of seven siblings, the devout Muslim moved there from Pakistan with his familyin the 1990s and opened Shah’s Newsagents and Convenience Store.
His younger brother said: “He loved being in the shop and speaking to everyone. He knew all his customers by name and sometimes they would just come in for a chat.

A message from Asad Shah's daughter outside his shop in Shawlands

superbeets · Mar 27, 2016

“He was a calm and patient man and did not mind where people were from or what religion they were. He liked everyone. He would give people cards for Christmas and for Easter as he knew it was important to them.

“I opened up my Facebook this morning and was blown away by the support and tributes from the local community. It shows how much he was liked.”
Four hours before the attack, Mr Shah posted on Facebook: “Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation. Let's follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ and get the real success in both worlds." In previous posts, he also called "unconditional real love for all mankind".

The message posted by Asad Shah hours before has was stabbed to death

Around 500 people, including Nicola Sturgeon, attended a vigil on Friday night and there has continued to be a steady stream of people over the weekend laying flowers.

His widow described her husband as “a kind man who was always smiling.” She said: “He looked after me and his parents and was loved by many, many people.

“I saw him only a few hours before he died. I keep thinking he is going to walk back through the front door. I am heartbroken.”
His younger sister, who had travelled from England, described Mr Shah as a “real gentleman” who had embraced Scotland and Glasgow and “did not deserve this.”

“I haven’t been able to bring myself to visit the floral tributes near his shop as it is still too raw, but I want to thank everyone for their support,” she added.

The family worship at the Baitur Rahman Mosque in Glasgow, which is the base for 500-strong the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Scotland. Dawood Ahmad Querishi, its imam, described the murder as “brutal, horrific and unjustified.”

He said: “It is up to the Government to root out all forms of extremism. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community has been speaking about the importance of this for many years.

“We are waiting for the results of the police investigation before we make any comments on the motive for the attack. We do not want to cause more division.”

Some Muslims regard the sect as heretical because they believe that its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, is the messiah and a prophet.

superbeets · Mar 27, 2016

The dangers faced by Muslims who dare to speak out.

ScottL · Mar 27, 2016

Another way to lose the war against radical islam - Fail to protect the moderate and the tolerant.
Shame on all nations who allow minorities to be bullied and threatened.

The Guesser · Mar 27, 2016

Scott L said:
Another way to lose the war against radical islam - Fail to protect the moderate and the tolerant.
Shame on all nations who allow minorities to be bullied and threatened.

superbeets · Mar 28, 2016

[h=2]Peaceful newsagent 'was killed by a fellow Muslim who travelled 200 miles to knife him' after he posted Happy Easter message to Christians[/h][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[/FONT]Asad Shah, pictured, was stabbed to death in his shop in what is feared to have been a sectarian attack against the peace-loving branch of Islam he followed after he posted a Easter greeting online. Hours before his murder, he had written on Facebook: 'Good Friday and very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation.' The bearded killer is understood to have travelled from his home in Bradford to Mr Shah's store in Glasgow.

flashmo · Mar 28, 2016

....the religion of peace...

ScottL · Mar 28, 2016

So there's these two brothers who buy a bar/club in 2011. The bar is a pretty fun place. The brothers love to party. By day friends come in to watch the big screen tvs and follow their favorites soccer teams. There are a lot of card games. The brothers love soccer, loves playing cards - love anything they can gamble on. At night the bar has DJs and dancing, and the brothers love womanizing and party late into the night with their friends. The bar is in Brussels. The brothers are Muslim. The bar closed 8 months ago. Then last week the two brothers became suicide bombers. A couple of their old friends say one of them was in jail for a few days for a minor offense. He was unhappy with how the authorities treated him. A fellow inmate befriended him. Between the time the bar shut down and last week he became a full blown radical islamist.

So this story makes me think. You see a young Muslim male at the train station. He's got a thick beard, and a briefcase. People are giving him dirty, suspicious looks. He could be a terrorist who hates America. He could be a stockbroker on his way to the office. He might love America. He might love it even more than you. You just don't know.