{UAH} Uber taxi driver drove 200miles to stab popular Glasgow shopkeeper

Jabby Ali/Mayimuna,


What do you say about this brutal and barbaric murder carried out by
a Muslim in the name of the Koran? This psychopath drove 200 miles to
attack a man he did not even know and had never met before and
brutally murdered him because he did not agree with his intepretation
of the Koran and held a different Islamic doctrine. How then can you
convince the man on the street, or an uninterested party that Islam is
a religion of peace if such a monstrous babarity as described here can
be carried out in its name?

Bobby

Uber taxi driver drove 200miles to stab popular Glasgow shopkeeper
Asad Shah to death in argument over religion

10:33, 7 Jul 2016 Updated 16:34, 7 Jul 2016 By Lucy Christie , Sam
Webb , Stephen Jones , Catriona Webster

Tanveer Ahmed has confessed to the killing of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad
Shah An Uber taxi driver drove 200miles to stab popular Glasgow
shopkeeper Asad Shah to death in a heated argument over religion.

Even after the knife was wrestled from his grip he began punching,
kicking and stamping on his victim, a court heard - despite repeated
pleas to stop by those around him.

And when his vicious, murderous attack was over he calmly walked to a
nearby bus shelter and sat "in prayer" waiting for the police to
arrive, the court heard.

Uber taxi driver Tanveer Ahmed, 32, admits murdering Mr Shah, a
40-year-old Ahmadi Muslim, who ran a convenience store in the city.

The High Court in Glasgow heard today that Ahmed claimed Mr Shah had
"disrespected the prophet of Islam, the messenger of Allah, Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him."

Horrific CCTV footage shown to court today showed Ahmed, from
Bradford, arriving at the shop at about 9pm in the evening.

The judge was told Mr Shah's family wanted the video shown - but they
were not in court because of fears for their own security and they did
not want to see his killer.

The footage shows how shortly after arriving Ahmed swiftly got
involved in a fierce row with Mr Shah - who had been serving customers
- said to be "intense" and in Urdu.

The court heard that Ahmed - a Muslim - believed Mr Shah claimed to be
a prophet.

The killer was said to have attempted and failed to "persuade Mr Shah
to his point of view".

Daily Record Asad Shah was murdered in March Ahmed can then be seen
- on CCTV shown to the jury and members of the public sat in the
gallery - reaching into his robes, pulling out a knife and moving
round the counter to attack Mr Shah.

Mr Shah's colleague Stephen McFadyen rushed from the back of the shop
where he had been working and tried to intervene but Mr Shah was
repeatedly stabbed in the head and body, with the blows continuing as
he fled into the street.


Mr Shah's brother Athar, a personal trainer who had been in the
basement, rushed upstairs and dragged his injured brother away before
trying to fend off the killer with the only weapon available - an
advertising sign in the street outside the shop.

Mr McFadyen meanwhile bravely grabbed the knife from Ahmed and hid it
in nearby bushes.

Their pleas for Ahmed to stop were ignored as he continued to punch,
kick and stamp Mr Shah "with full force".


Police on Minard Road, Shawlands, Glasgow, investigating the death of
popular shop keeper Asad Shah Ahmed then walked calmly to a nearby
bus shelter where he sat with his head bowed "as if in prayer".

Advocate depute Iain McSporran told the court the pair conversed
"intensely" in Urdu.

"His demeanour and gestures are at least consistent with his account
that he was attempting to persuade the shopkeeper to his point of
view," he said.

"From what we can see of Mr Shah, he is responding but not apparently
agreeing with the accused.

DR The Facebook post by Asad Shah wishing all Christians a 'Happy
Easter' "The accused, having apparently not received the response he
was looking for, reaches into the robes he is wearing and removes a
knife with which he attacks Asad Shah, moving behind the counter to do
so.

"Stephen McFadyen, who was working nearby in the shop, approaches and
attempts to assist but the incident is fast moving and he is unable to
prevent the attack, involving repeated stab wounds aimed at the head
and upper body, continuing."

He then moved to when the attack spilled outside.

"Athar Shah makes a valiant but vain attempt to fend off the attacker,
wielding an advertising sign as the only available weapon but without
effect," Mr McSporran continued.

"Whilst the attack continued, with the accused kneeling on the victim,
pinning him to the ground, Stephen McFadyen bravely reached for the
knife and grabbed it from the accused, running across the road and
placing it in bushes out of harm's way.

"The accused then began punching, kicking and stamping with full force
on the prone body of Asad Shah, who was long past being in any
position to defend himself.

"Many blows were delivered to his head and face, despite Athar's
repeated pleas for him to stop.

"The attack ceased suddenly and the accused walked calmly to a bus
shelter nearby where he sat, head bowed as if in prayer."

The chain of events leading up to the killing at Shah's Newsagents and
Convenience Store on Minard Road on March 24 appeared to begin two
days before. At that time Ahmed had been staying with a mutual friend
of Mr Shah in Glasgow.


A vigil is held after the murder of Asad Shah He seemed to already
have an interest in his victim, asking his host whether he knew "Shah
from Glasgow".

It was at that point that Ahmed was shown for the first time Facebook
posts made by Mr Shah suggesting that he was a prophet.

Daily Record Mr Shah was a much-loved member of the local community
The killer returned to Bradford on March 23, leaving his friend with
no reason to think that anything would come of the incident.

But the following day he was again driving north and during the
journey used his mobile to watch a video of Mr Shah claiming to be a
prophet.

SWNS The funeral of Mr Shah was held at the The Bait Ur Rahman Mosque
in the West End of Glasgow
"Listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in
the bud," he said in a phone message at the time.

After the attack a passing GP and nurse stopped to help and Mr Shah
was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital but pronounced
dead on arrival - less than an hour after the killer first entered his
shop.

When police found Ahmed in the nearby bus shelter, he said: "I respect
what you do and I have nothing against you and so I am not going to
hurt you. I have broken the law and appreciate how you are treating
me."



Hundreds of people turned out for the vigil after the attack stunned
the local community
In court, prosecutor Iain McSporran highlighted the "brave" and
"valiant" efforts of Mr McFadyen and Athar Shah, who suffered a knife
wound to the neck as he defended his brother.


He said: "In particular Athar Shah, who witnessed his brother being
murdered and who bears a terrible sense of guilt at what he sees,
quite wrongly, as his failure to help him, has suffered greatly both
mentally and physically."

Ahmed, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to murdering
the respected businessman, who was described by his family as a
"brilliant" man.


One of the many floral ributes for Asad Shah
At an earlier hearing Ahmed declared that he killed Mr Shah in order
to protect the honour of Islam.

He told his lawyer to release the unprecedented statement after
appearing in court for the second time in relation to the death of Mr
Shah.


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him for immigrant reveals 'total shock'


In a move that left legal experts baffled, he had his lawyer read out
a statement which accused Asad of showing disrespect to his religion .


Mr Shah was a pillar of the community
It said: "Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a Prophet."

As explained by prosecutors, Ahmadis differ from other Muslims in
their belief that the Prophet Muhammad was not the final Prophet.

The majority of Muslims believe this view is inconsistent with Islamic
belief and many consider it heretical or blasphemous.


A vigil is held after the murder of Asad Shah
Ahmed said he murdered Mr Shah - who was granted asylum when he moved
to Glasgow from Pakistan to escape violence in 1998 - not because he
was an Ahmadi Muslim however, but because of specific comments he made
on social media.

Evidence gathered showed Mr Shah had posted videos on Facebook and
YouTube which could be seen as him claiming that he was a Prophet.

The court heard Ahmed was not motivated by malice towards Ahmadi
Muslims as a group, but by his offence at Mr Shah's comments.

The shopkeeper regularly posted messages and video clips online which
the Crown said gave "little doubt that he was claiming to be a
messenger of God and a prophet".

Hours before the attack, Mr Shah had posted a Facebook message wishing
all Christians a "Happy Easter".

James Doleman/Twitter Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
attended a vigil for Mr Shah Mr Shah's family said a person's
religion, ethnicity or race never mattered to the shopkeeper, who
treated everyone with kindness and respect.

They said: "Our love for all mankind and hope for a better world in
which we can all live in peace and harmony, as so emphatically
embodied by Asad, will endure and prevail.

"Asad left us a tremendous gift and we must continue to honour that
gift by loving and taking care of one another."

The parents of Mr Shah said they moved to Scotland from Pakistan
because "we never thought that we could be in danger here".

As Ahmadi Muslims they said they faced religious hatred and
discrimination in their homeland and sought refuge in Glasgow.


Many people enjoyed visiting Mr Shah in his store and chatting to him daily
His parents said: "We brought our children to this country to seek
refuge from Pakistan in 1991 fleeing persecution, religious hatred,
discrimination and a danger to our lives because we were Ahmadis.

"We never thought that we could be in danger here.

"We feel imprisoned by our pain and suffering and we have little hope
of ever having a normal life again.

"Most of the family, unable to live with this turmoil, pain and fear,
has taken a decision to leave Scotland forever."


Mr Shah was fondly thought of from people of all ages and different faiths
Two decades on, they said the faith-motivated stabbing of their son as
he served behind the counter of the family store has brought "an
immense sense of guilt" and a renewed sense of fear for their safety.

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