Jameah Islameah School
Encyclopedia
Jameah Islameah School was an independent
Islam
ic school in East Sussex
. The school was located on a 54 acre
site and has residential facilities to house male students aged 11 to 16. The school was independently owned and the proprietor functioned as the principal. In December, 2005, Jameah Islameah was inspected by the Office for Standards in Education
which noted that it "does not provide a satisfactory education for its pupils." At the time of the inspection, the school had nine students.
According to BBC News the school purported to teach students to become Islamic leaders, training them to the level high enough to teach in local Masajeds and Madares.
, in 1997 and 1998, Abu Hamza
and groups of around 30 of his followers held terrorist training camps at the school, including training with AK47 rifles and handguns, as well as a mock rocket launcher. In 2003 or 2004, the grounds of the school were used for an Islamic-themed camping trip, at which Omar Bakri Mohammed lectured. The trip, which was advertised by word-of-mouth, was attended by 50 Muslim men, most of whom were members of al-Muhajiroun
. Bakri claimed the activities at the camp included lectures on Islam, football, and paintballing.
On 1 September 2006 the Jameah Islameah school was searched by up to a hundred police officers as part of their operations, although no arrests were made. The local Sussex Police held a cordon around the site for 24 days in an operation that cost them over one million pounds. Meanwhile the Metropolitan Police
searched the buildings and grounds and the lake.
On the evening of 2 September over 40 police officers entered a south London halal
Chinese restaurant called The Bridge to China Town and, after talking to customers for over an hour, arrested twelve on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Two further arrests were made elsewhere in London.
By 6 September two men had been released.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic school in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. The school was located on a 54 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
site and has residential facilities to house male students aged 11 to 16. The school was independently owned and the proprietor functioned as the principal. In December, 2005, Jameah Islameah was inspected by the Office for Standards in Education
Office for Standards in Education
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
which noted that it "does not provide a satisfactory education for its pupils." At the time of the inspection, the school had nine students.
According to BBC News the school purported to teach students to become Islamic leaders, training them to the level high enough to teach in local Masajeds and Madares.
Terrorism arrests
There have been allegations that the school was used in the training and recruitment of terrorists. According to testimony from Al Qaeda suspects held at Guantanamo BayGuantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
, in 1997 and 1998, Abu Hamza
Abu Hamza
Abu Hamza may refer to:* Abu Hamza al-Masri , jailed UK Muslim cleric* Mahmoud al-Majzoub , leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad* Abu Hamza al-Muhajir , leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq...
and groups of around 30 of his followers held terrorist training camps at the school, including training with AK47 rifles and handguns, as well as a mock rocket launcher. In 2003 or 2004, the grounds of the school were used for an Islamic-themed camping trip, at which Omar Bakri Mohammed lectured. The trip, which was advertised by word-of-mouth, was attended by 50 Muslim men, most of whom were members of al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun is a banned Islamist organisation that was based in Britain and which has been linked to international terrorism, homophobia and anti-semitism...
. Bakri claimed the activities at the camp included lectures on Islam, football, and paintballing.
On 1 September 2006 the Jameah Islameah school was searched by up to a hundred police officers as part of their operations, although no arrests were made. The local Sussex Police held a cordon around the site for 24 days in an operation that cost them over one million pounds. Meanwhile the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
searched the buildings and grounds and the lake.
On the evening of 2 September over 40 police officers entered a south London halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
Chinese restaurant called The Bridge to China Town and, after talking to customers for over an hour, arrested twelve on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Two further arrests were made elsewhere in London.
By 6 September two men had been released.