police are investigating death threats made against a leading human rights lawyer who has played a prominent role in calling for unity in Scotland’s Muslim community.
Aamer Anwar said the messages came from “fanatics” opposed to his call for Muslims of all
backgrounds and denominations to stand together against Islamic extremism.
He said he was taking the warnings “extremely seriously” and warned against hatred being imported to Scotland “from the cesspit of extremism in Pakistan”
Last week, the lawyer chaired an event at Hamden Park calling for unity and condemning violence and extremism in the wake of the killing of the shopkeeper Asad Shah and recent terror attacks in Brussels and Lahore.
Speakers from different strands of Muslim faith, including the peace-loving Ahmadiyya sect which Mr Shah belonged to, the mosque’s Iman, from the Sunni tradition, and a Pakistani Christian, shared a platform together for the first time.
Mr Anwar said he had been subjected to threats over the years and had avoided talking about them, but being made to feel that his life was at risk was “the final straw”.
He added that he refused to be silenced and expressed frustration that some prominent Muslim community leaders in Glasgow had failed to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with him.
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