Asif Malik (31), who was feared to have taken his wife and four children to Syria to join Islamic State, has been detained in Turkey. It is also believed that Malik was a member of al-Muhajiroun, a banned group which was formed by the extremist preacher, Anjem Choudary.
The family were located by Turkish authorities after an international alert was sent out.
Malik was a member of the al-Muhajiroun group. He used to attend rallies, lectures and events held by the preacher and former members. Anjem Choudary described Malik as a “champion for Sharia”, who regularly attended al-Muhajiroun demonstrations before the group was banned for its alleged terrorist links in 2010.
Anjem Choudary is currently on bail, on suspicion of being a member of a prohibited group and for supporting terrorism. Choudary spoke about Malik, referring to him as “a very studious man, a very good Muslim character. He further added, “He was always a champion for Sharia and is very influential in the community. Back in the day he was a member until the group was banned. He was still part of our demonstrations and lectures but I hadn’t seen him for a few months.”
