Currently the Muslim community in the UK has become the victim
of a number of policies where due process has been removed
completely. The cases of the five men who were extradited to the
US, including Babar Ahmad and Syed Talha Ahsan; those men facing
deportation, such as Abu Qatada; and finally those who have
their citizenships removed, such as Mahdi Hashi – all have in
common that the fundamental guarantees of due process have been
denied to them. As the public celebrates Christmas, it is
important that we remember at this difficult time, a moment in
history where a Christian king placed due process over
friendship, and protected a group of Muslims from being returned
to a land where they would have been harmed. In 613, a group of
eleven men and four women were given express permission by the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), to seek refuge in Abyssinia, due to the
oppression they were facing in the course of practicing their
faith in Makkah. Despite the distance they would have to travel,
the Prophet singled out th