Only last week I was arguing with a friend that ‘Britz’ had it all wrong – how can a woman possibly think of being a suicide bomber in the UK? ‘It’s only a matter of time’ she replied. And lo and behold, ‘The Lyrical Terrorist’ hit the headlines soon after!!
In this article for BBC News 24, the writer gives an account of Samina Malik’s fascination with Islam and terrorism.
“A 23-year-old who called herself the “Lyrical Terrorist” has become the first woman in the UK to be convicted under the Terrorism Act. Samina Malik, from Southall, west London, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of owning terrorist manuals.
The jury heard Malik had written extremist poems praising Osama Bin Laden, supporting martyrdom and discussing beheading.
Malik worked at WH Smith at Heathrow Airport until her arrest last October.
She had earlier been found not guilty of the more serious charge, under Section 57 of the Act, of possessing an article for a terrorist purpose. She denied the charges.
Extremist ‘library’
Malik burst into tears in the dock when the verdict was read out”. For the full article click here
The Crime reporter at BBC News, Ben Ando’s article sheds further light on Malik’s character, following on from the Judge’s comments that she remains an enigma to him.
The enigma that is the ‘Lyrical Terrorist’
“She cut a slight, almost incongruous figure in court.
Samina Malik denied being a terrorist throughout the trial
Each day, the self-proclaimed “Lyrical Terrorist”, Samina Malik, walked to the Old Bailey hiding her face from the cameras with a headscarf.
Usually dressed in a mixture of traditional Muslim clothing with western tracksuit bottoms and trainers, she is always accompanied by her mother and her solicitor, and rarely speaks.
In the week since the jury of seven men and five women was sent out to consider its verdict; she has been given bail with conditions that she need not remain in the dock but could sit in the cafe at the Old Bailey, or anywhere within the court building”. For a full article click here
About Film 
November 15, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Hi, I work for BBC World Service radio on an international discussion programme, called World Have Your Say. On Friday 16th November we are planning to have a discussion on whether people should be prosecuted for their thoughts, if they are seen as criminal in nature. The pegs for this discussion are the Samina Malik and the case of the actor Chris Langham. He was convicted of dowloading paedophile images but not of actually committing any paedophile acts. We are on air from 6pm to 7pm and were wondering if you might be willing to take part.
Many thanks
Yours sincerely
Martin Vennard 02075570635