A United Kingdom-based Islamic preacher, Mizanur Rahman, is being investigated by London police after a video showed him praising Boko Haram for kidnapping over 200 schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria.The 31-year-old, who hails from Palmers Green, north London, claimed in an online video-recording that killing non-Muslims was ‘not necessarily a bad thing.’The sect has been in possession of the girls since taking them from their boarding school in Chibok, Borno on April 14.British tabloid, The Daily Mail, said Rahman also praised the terror group for its activities.In the video, he said, “People want to make it out as though history began on the day these girls were taken from – sorry I should say these women – were taken from this high school in Nigeria.
“They didn’t do to these girls what the Nigerian government had been doing to Muslims all these years. They didn’t rape anybody. They didn’t torture. They didn’t murder any of these girls.”The preacher was also quoted as describing the terrorist group as being “full of good messages,” including its support for al-Qaeda.Rahman, said to be a follower of fiery preacher, Anjem Choudary, was convicted in 2007 on a murder-related charge and bagged a six-year jail sentence. He was released from prison in 2010.Choudary, who set up the banned Al Muhajiroun organisation with exiled comrade Omar Bakri Muhammad, in Rahman’s defence, said his ‘good friend’ had given a measured response to the crisis.He said, “I believe if you look at what he was saying it was very measured. You just have to look at the atrocities that, especially in 2011 and 2012, that were carried out against the women and child of Al Mujahideen by the Nigerian government.“That story has not been told, and this is retaliation for that. The Americans are only interested in Nigeria because of its oil reserves. Otherwise, they would not be bothered.”A Metropolitan Police spokesman said, “We are aware of the video and we are assessing its contents. We are not prepared to discuss this further.”