Asad Shah murder verdict: Man who killed shopkeeper for ‘disrespecting Islam’ jailed for minimum of 27 years

Tanveer Ahmed said he had been offended by clips the shopkeeper had uploaded online

Asad Shah was well-known in his community, with thousands turning out for a vigil in his honour (PA)

A Muslim taxi driver has been jailed for at least 27 years for murdering a shopkeeper who he believed had “disrespected Islam”.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, travelled from Bradford, Yorkshire to Glasgow to confront Asad Shah at his newsagents shop before stabbing the 40-year-old to death with a knife.

Ahmed, who was not acquainted with Mr Shah, said he had been offended by clips the shopkeeper had uploaded online, which he claimed “disrespected the Prophet Mohammed”.

The father of three from Yorkshire was handed a life sentence at the High Court in Glasgow after admitting to the murder in Glasgow’s Shawlands area on 24 March.

Ahmed watched one of Mr Shah's clips on his phone as he travelled to Glasgow on the day of the murder.

He was heard in a phone message saying: “Listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs to be nipped in the bud”.

Ahmed said he warned the shopkeeper he would kill him and asked him to stop claiming to be a prophet upon arriving at the shop.

Mr Shah’s brother and a shop assistant attempted to stop Ahmed as he began to attack him.

The Shah family, who moved from Pakistan to Scotland in the 1990s to escape persecution, belong to the Ahmadi sect of Islam whose beliefs differ from the majority of Muslims.

Some Muslims consider Ahmadiyyas, a group known for their non-violence and focus on interfaith co-operation, to be heretics and the sect have been banned from referring to themselves as Muslims by the constitution of Pakistan.

The court heard that their belief that the Prophet Mohammed was not the final prophet was a view considered blasphemous by many.

In a statement released through his lawyer after the killing, Ahmed said: “If I had not done this others would have and there would be more killings and violence in the world.”

Mr Shah was well-respected in his local community with thousands turning out to a silent, candlelight vigil outside his shop in his memory shortly after his death.

Judge Lady Rae told Ahmed he must serve a minimum of 27 years in jail before being considered for release.

Additional reporting by Press Association