Prosecution: Muslim killed blind imam because he thought he was Antichrist

The defense attorneys for Hamza Boutouli, a 25-year-old Muslim, have admitted that their client killed the blind imam at the Muslim Welfare House in London’s Finsbury Park. What the defense and prosecutors are arguing in Boutouli’s trial for the manslaughter of Sheikh Maymoun Zazour is whether Boutouli could distinguish right from wrong or was legally insane.

Yesterday, the jury heard that after Zazour was discovered by mosque staff with a cord wrapped around his neck, Boutouli returned to the mosque while a witness was describing him to police and people “raving” about the imam being the Antichrist. The Haringey Independent reports the prosecution telling the jury:

“Among the things he was saying, which bystanders translated from Arabic so the police could understand, was that he had killed the Anti-Christ - and by that he meant the imam - and that this was judgement day.

“One thing they noted though was that he now had injuries to his face and ears which he hadn’t had before.

“Clearly he had been involved in a fight and, of course, we now know it was with the imam.”

Read the rest here.

Curiously, the Antichrist isn’t a Muslim concept.