'I always say I want to see the Islamic flag in Downing St '

The face of English jihad

Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed arrives 20 minutes late for our meeting in a small navy hatchback, his substantial frame shoehorned into the front passenger seat. With two frowning assistants trailing behind, the white-robed imam heads into Burger King, an unlikely choice of venue for the leader of Al-Muhajiroun, a party dedicated to the overthrow of Western society.

"Do you not want to get some fries?" asks the bearded and bespectacled cleric who teaches Islamic law. I mutter about the evils of junk food. He sighs and nods in agreement.

"That's why I'm fat!" he declares, settling for a bottle of fresh orange juice.

It is hard to believe that this polite and affable 44-year-old, who lives in Edmonton, North London, is the face of English jihad. But then he is skilled at courting journalists. Syrian-born Omar Bakri has been dubbed the Tottenham Ayatollah for imposing a series of fatwas on those he considers to be enemies of Islam. His latest, issued last week, was against the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) for urging Muslims to inform on suspected terrorists.

Today, the university-educated sheikh is in a more moderate mood, eager to portray himself as the misunderstood victim of a whispering campaign rather than a fanatic.

At 4pm on Friday, he was expected to officiate at a wedding ceremony. It is now past 6pm but he appears to be in no hurry despite the anxious looks on the faces of his male helpers.

He explains that his issue is with the Government and the MCB whom he accuses of going against the Koran by urging Muslims to co-operate with the security forces against other Muslims.

"If the British Government failed to do its own job policing society it doesn't mean [it's right] to hire the Muslim community to become spies against each other," says Omar Bakri who arrived in Britain in 1986 after being expelled from Saudi Arabia.

Looking comfortable in his red leatherette seat, he dismisses with a tolerant smile any suggestion that he is responsible for training young Muslims to become terrorists.

"Now because you fail to establish who is al-Q'aida you start to pick on people like us. It is absurd. I never recruit any people to go abroad to fight, I never support any form of violence here or abroad, yet the media portray me to be as some terrorist. Bogus!"

He talks at speed in heavily accented, broken-English, rarely pausing for breath or even to answer his mobile phone when it rings.

In his opinion, those men arrested last week in Luton and Crawley on suspicion of terrorism are all innocent men whom he admits to having taught.

"I taught them law, how to play, how to fast, how to sell, what to wear. This is what I teach. I don't teach people how to make bombs, how to go abroad to fight."

Last week, it was reported that the Home Office was so keen to deport the father-of-seven that they appointed a special team of officials dedicated to the task. The imminent threat of being thrown out of Britain does not seem to bother him.

"It is you know, they call it a stone only in a teacup (sic). They know I have very strong views against man made laws. I do not involve in any form of violence because I believe thought and ideas can change behaviour."

The interview has already overrun but Omar Bakri clearly enjoys the attention. He ignores the agitated gestures to wind the interview down from his assistants who have been fielding calls from the increasingly anxious couple waiting to be married.

So does he like living in Britain, the country he accuses of engaging in terrorism against Afghanistan and Iraq with the help of the US?

"I believe I'm living in UK in the kingdom of God. I have no problem with the people. My problem is with man-made laws in the East and the West... I always say I would like to see the Islamic flag over 10 Downing Street. It's my dream over the whole world. But you can tell me: 'Sheikh Omar, you dreamer!' "

The interview over, I reach out to shake his hand but my gesture is rejected. "Sorry, we don't shake hands," he apologises.

Instead, Omar Bakri accepts the hand of the male photographer before squeezing himself back into his car, nearly three hours late for someone else's wedding.

544 ARRESTS

Since 11 September 2001 there have been 544 arrests under the Terrorism Act. Of these, 91 people have been charged with offences under anti-terror laws. But so far only five have been convicted, including:

Moinul Abedin, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi, who was found guilty of plotting to detonate a bomb in Britain that would have caused "immense risk" to life. He received a 20-year jail term.

Baghdad Meziane and Brahim Benmerzouga, from Leicester, who were each jailed for 11 years last April after being convicted of raising funds for terrorists. They are appealing against their sentences.

Terrorism charges against many other suspects have been dropped. They include:

Karim Kadouri, who was arrested in November 2002 for allegedly plotting to release poison gas in the London Underground. All terrorism charges against him were dropped, and he was jailed for four months last February for having a fake passport.

Two members of a radical Islamic group alleged to have planned a chemical weapons attack on a high-profile London target were never charged with terrorist offences. Instead, the brothers involved in the alleged plot, Samir and Mouloud Feddag, were jailed in June 2003 for possessing false passports.

Currently, there are 12 foreign nationals detained at high security prisons around the country under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act. It allows for the detention without charge or trial of foreign nationals suspected of involvement in international terrorism.