Mullah Krekar

Islamic ExtremismIslamistPan-IslamistRecruiterDaesh

Feb 14

**DOB:** 7 July 1956

**Nationality:** Kurdish

**Location:** Milan (imprisoned)
**Ideology/Affiliation:** Islamist Extremism/Jihadism/Radicalism/Fundamentalism

**Type of Leader:** Preacher/Propagandist/Founder and former leader of Ansar al-Islam

Current Status: Serving 12 years in prison in Italy

Biography

Najmuddin Faraj, known as Mullah Krekar, is a former leader of Ansar al-Islam and a Kurdish Sunni Islamic cleric. He is originally from Iraqi Kurdistan and moved to Norway as a refugee in 1991. While he had refugee status in Norway, Krekar founded and led the armed Islamist group Ansar al-Islam, which was already established and operating in Northern Iraq. Since February 2003, Krekar has been under an expulsion order which is suspended until the Iraqi government guarantees he won’t be tortured or executed. Krekar was listed on the United Nations terror list in 2006 and has been deemed a danger to national security in Norway as of November 2007.

Additionally, Mullah Krekar was listed as one of five people who provide financial support to terrorist organisations in a statement released by the United States Department of the Treasury in December 2006. The statement accused him of providing funds to Ansar al-Sunnah, an Iraqi terror group that branched out from Ansar al-Islam. Later that day, Krekar was listed on the United Nations Security Council’s list of persons related to or affiliated with Al Qaeda.

In July 2011, Krekar was charged with terrorism for issuing a death threat against former Norwegian Minister Erna Solberg during a news conference in June 2010. In 2019, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found to be the leader of the jihadi group Rawthi Shax. In March 2020, it was publicly announced that Krekar was extradited to Italy where he is currently serving his sentence.

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Krekar

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Evidence of Hate Speech/Incitement:

July 2019: Mullah Krekar was accused of being the leader of the Rawti Shax, a terrorist network with purported ties to Daesh that is suspected of plotting attacks in the West. However, Krekar denied all the accusations, claiming that all the cases against him were fake.

February 2015: In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015, Krekar was arrested by the Norwegian police for expressing his joy. He stated that “the cartoonist has become an infidel at war, and therefore it is permissible to kill him”, claiming that the attacks were justified under Islamic law. “As he has trampled on our dignity, our principles and beliefs, so he must die. Anyone who does not respect 30 percent of the world's population has no right to live. When it comes to what happened in France, naturally I am happy that it happened,” he added.

July 2011: Mullah Krekar was convicted guilty of threatening Erna Solberg's life, an ex-minister who signed his deportation order in 2003 because he was deemed a national security threat. He was also found guilty of threatening three other Kurds residing in Norway who had burned or disrespected the Koran in some way.

November 2009: In an interview with the Al-Hiwar (London-based Arabic-speaking media outlet), Krekar wished to establish an “Islamic caliphate” in Iraq and that he wanted Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, amongst other radical Islamists, as senior leaders.

Extremist Individuals - Islamists