The-kuffar-went-lands-killed-people-raped-pillaged-Video-rant-trainee-lawyer-firm-blaming-non-Muslims-Paris-terror-attacks.html

Aysh Chaudhry, 22, criticised 'apologetic' Muslims in online diatribe
Trainee lawyer claimed the West was to blame for the Paris terror attacks
He repeatedly referred to non-Muslims using the derogatory term kuffar
Clifford Chance trainee apologised saying he wanted to encourage debate
Law firm has refused to confirm whether he will be fired over the video
Critics say he has used 'language of terror' and firm's response is 'weak'

By Jenny Awford and Steph Cockroft for MailOnline

Published: 18:25 GMT, 19 January 2015 | Updated: 19:57 GMT, 19 January 2015

A trainee lawyer at one of the world's biggest law firms has posted a rant claiming the Paris terror attacks may not have happened if the West had not 'killed our people and pillaged our resources'.

Aysh Chaudhry, 22, from magic circle law firm Clifford Chance, criticised Muslims for allowing their minds to be 'colonised' and claimed Islam was 'superior' to Western ideology.

In a 21-minute YouTube video posted two days after the kosher supermarket massacre, the lawyer said freedom of speech should not be put on a pedestal 'as though it is some godsend'.

Referring to non-Muslims insultingly as 'kuffar', he addressed the Paris terrorist atrocities, which left 17 people dead, and said that any Muslims who apologised were offering a 'weak' response.

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Aysh Chaudhry, 22, posted an online diatribe claiming the Paris terror attacks may not have happened if the West had not 'killed our people and pillaged our resources'

In the online diatribe, where he speaks mostly in English with some Arabic, Mr Chaudhry said: 'Brothers and sisters, we would not be here had it not been for the fact that the kuffar had gone to our lands and killed our people and raped and pillaged our resources.

'This, brothers and sisters, is what we need to understand. We need to move away from this apologetic tone and have confidence in Islam because we are enslaved otherwise.'

'We need to remove this Western cultural lens with which we are viewing and responding to attacks on Islam from our eyes.

'Stop putting freedom on this pedestal. This is a value stemming from secular, liberal beliefs. We don't need a value which stems from a bankrupt ideology.'

During the video - which was watched 700 times before being removed - he claimed that freedom of speech is an ideal which does not exist in reality.

'You wouldn't walk around Germany denying the Holocaust,' he said.

Aysh Chaudhry posts online rant about Paris terror attacks

He said freedom of speech should not be put on a pedestal 'as though it is some godsend' in a 21-minute YouTube video posted two days after the kosher supermarket massacre.

'The ideal of freedom of speech doesn't exist in reality. But there seems to be an absolute freedom to insult Muslims.

'The people being held out as Islamic personalities with an Islamic response are not giving a correct Islamic response. You [Muslims] have to accept their [Westerners'] freedom to insult you.

'That is what freedom of speech means [in the West]… I guess Muslims just need to grow up, is the concept they want to put across.'

He calls freedom of speech a 'bankrupt ideology', adding: 'We are becoming infatuated with the civilisation of the kuffar and their beliefs and their values and indeed we have latched on to these.

'Now you know who you are if you are of those who state 'I will die to protect your freedom and I believe in freedom of speech'.

The Kouachi brothers were filmed by eyewitnesses in a Paris street after they'd slaughtered 11 members of the Charlie Hebdo editorial team in cold blood

'But understand that it is not the Islamic response to this issue. It represents a defeatist mentality, brothers and sisters.

It is understood the trainee started at Clifford Chance six months ago and earns £40,500 per year.

The 22-year-old from Walthamstow, east London has now offered a grovelling apology claiming that he just wanted to encourage intellectual debate.

He said: 'I apologise for any offence caused by my video. I have a deep and serious Islamic faith, I had no intention other than to encourage intellectual debate and would never support or condone violence.'

Clifford Chance insisted today that the firm did not share the views of Mr Chaudhry, pictured is the headquarters in Canary Wharf

Clifford Chance insisted today that the firm did not share the views of Mr Chaudhry, who works in their mergers and acquisitions department.

But the firm refused to comment on whether he would be would lose his job or face any disciplinary action.

A spokesman for the firm said: 'The views expressed in this video are personal and not those of Clifford Chance.

'The firm is committed to establishing an inclusive culture where people with diverse backgrounds and views work effectively together and feel confident to develop their potential.

'We ask our people at all times to consider how their personal conduct and actions may affect those around them, their professional reputation and that of the firm.'

Mr Chaudhry's video was posted on January 11 from an account called 'Call of Dawah', which describes itself on Facebook as a 'local Islamic youth group based in east London'.

The video was set to 'private' three days later but the full video later re-surfaced on YouTube on an account called 'Magic 2015'.

His LinkedIn page has been removed, but it said he gained a first-class honours degree in law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at London University.

Before working at Clifford Chance, he interned at Slaughter & May, White & Case, Freshfields, and BLP.

Speaking outside the family home in Walthamstow, east London, today, his father Zahur Chaudhry said: 'The whole thing has been totally blown out of proportion. It's a non-story.

'I won't pass comment, but if you read his statement that will tell you our stance on it.

'He's working hard on a very big project for Clifford Chance, lots of long hours, so he's not normally home until very late.'

But Sam Westrop, director of Stand For Peace, a Jewish-Muslim interfaith group that tackles religious and political extremism in the UK, said Mr Chaudhry had used 'the language of terror' and that Clifford Chance's response was 'weak'.

He told MailOnline: 'From our position - and for anyone involved in counter-terror - this is a familiar type of rhetoric, directed at non-Muslims. It is not just political ramblings.

'We saw it after the Woolwich murder, when Michael Adebolajo made similar comments on camera about victimhood in foreign lands.

'This man might not be directly involved with terror but he is certainly using the langauge of terror. I'm sure he will be someone that the police and security services are going to look at very closely from now on.'

He added: 'That Clifford Chance has responded so weakly is deplorable. I'm sure they would have no hesitation in taking immediate disciplinary action against someone with neo-Nazi views, so I'm not sure why this is different.

'I don't believe any respectable company or organisation would hesistate in taking immediate discplinary action against an employee who has made these comments.'