Hamza was the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque from 1997 , and a leader of the Supporters of Sharia , a group that believed in a strict interpretation of Islamic law . On 14 September 1999 , he sent an article to '' Al-Hayat '' , one of the largest pan-Arab newspapers , supporting the Russian apartment bombings , claiming that while " in a war , no one targets women and children in a war " , these attacks were necessary as " a Muslim revenge for the Russian criminal policies in Chechnya " . In 2003 , he addressed a rally in central London called by the Islamic al-Muhajiroun , where members spoke of their support for Islamist goals such as the creation of a new Islamic caliphate and replacing the Western-backed Middle Eastern regimes . On 4 February 2003 ( after being suspended since April 2002 ) , Hamza was dismissed from his position at the Finsbury Park Mosque by the Charity Commission , the government department that regulates charities in England and Wales . After his exclusion from the mosque , he preached outside the gates until May 2004 , when he was arrested at the start of US extradition proceedings against him ( see below )
Russian apartment bombings
Russian apartment bombings
Abu Hamza al-Masri