| GEO World | | UK moves to ban controversial Islamist group | Updated at: 1542 PST, Tuesday, January 12, 2010
LONDON: Britain's government said Tuesday it will ban an Islamist group whose proposed protest march through a town known for honoring British soldiers killed in Afghanistan drew national outrage.
The group, Islam4UK, will be banned starting Thursday, said Home Secretary Alan Johnson. The move will allow authorities to arrest people who meet in the group's name and seize its assets.
Islam4UK reacted with outrage. Omar Bakri Mohamed, a Lebanon-based cleric who serves as the group's spiritual leader, claimed that the ban could push some of his members to violence.
In its previous incarnation as al-Muhajiroun, the group was linked to several terror suspects and was accused of recruiting British Muslims to fight in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
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