Uber driver drove 200 miles to stab popular Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah to death in argument over religion Even after the knife was wrestled from Tanveer Ahmed's grip he began punching, kicking and stamping on his victim - despite repeated pleas to stop by those around him
Tanveer Ahmed has confessed to the killing of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah
An Uber driver drove 200miles to stab popular Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah to death in a heated argument over religion.
Even after the knife was wrestled from his grip he began punching, kicking and stamping on his victim, a court heard - despite repeated pleas to stop by those around him.
And when his vicious, murderous attack was over he calmly walked to a nearby bus shelter and sat "in prayer" waiting for the police to arrive, the court heard.
Uber taxi driver Tanveer Ahmed, 32, admits murdering Mr Shah, a 40-year-old Ahmadi Muslim, who ran a convenience store in the city.
The High Court in Glasgow heard today that Ahmed claimed Mr Shah had "disrespected the prophet of Islam, the messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."
Horrific CCTV footage shown to court today showed Ahmed, from Bradford, arriving at the shop at about 9pm in the evening.
The judge was told Mr Shah's family wanted the video shown - but they were not in court because of fears for their own security and they did not want to see his killer.
The footage shows how shortly after arriving Ahmed swiftly got involved in a fierce row with Mr Shah - who had been serving customers - said to be "intense" and in Urdu.
The court heard that Ahmed - a Muslim - believed Mr Shah claimed to be a prophet.
The killer was said to have attempted and failed to "persuade Mr Shah to his point of view".
Ahmed can then be seen - on CCTV shown to the jury and members of the public sat in the gallery - reaching into his robes, pulling out a knife and moving round the counter to attack Mr Shah.
Mr Shah's colleague Stephen McFadyen rushed from the back of the shop where he had been working and tried to intervene but Mr Shah was repeatedly stabbed in the head and body, with the blows continuing as he fled into the street.
Mr Shah's brother Athar, a personal trainer who had been in the basement, rushed upstairs and dragged his injured brother away before trying to fend off the killer with the only weapon available - an advertising sign in the street outside the shop.
Mr McFadyen meanwhile bravely grabbed the knife from Ahmed and hid it in nearby bushes.
Their pleas for Ahmed to stop were ignored as he continued to punch, kick and stamp Mr Shah "with full force".
Ahmed then walked calmly to a nearby bus shelter where he sat with his head bowed "as if in prayer".
Advocate depute Iain McSporran told the court the pair conversed "intensely" in Urdu.
"His demeanour and gestures are at least consistent with his account that he was attempting to persuade the shopkeeper to his point of view," he said.
"From what we can see of Mr Shah, he is responding but not apparently agreeing with the accused.
"The accused, having apparently not received the response he was looking for, reaches into the robes he is wearing and removes a knife with which he attacks Asad Shah, moving behind the counter to do so.
"Stephen McFadyen, who was working nearby in the shop, approaches and attempts to assist but the incident is fast moving and he is unable to prevent the attack, involving repeated stab wounds aimed at the head and upper body, continuing."
He then moved to when the attack spilled outside.
"Athar Shah makes a valiant but vain attempt to fend off the attacker, wielding an advertising sign as the only available weapon but without effect," Mr McSporran continued.
"Whilst the attack continued, with the accused kneeling on the victim, pinning him to the ground, Stephen McFadyen bravely reached for the knife and grabbed it from the accused, running across the road and placing it in bushes out of harm's way.
"The accused then began punching, kicking and stamping with full force on the prone body of Asad Shah, who was long past being in any position to defend himself.
"Many blows were delivered to his head and face, despite Athar's repeated pleas for him to stop.
"The attack ceased suddenly and the accused walked calmly to a bus shelter nearby where he sat, head bowed as if in prayer."
The chain of events leading up to the killing at Shah’s Newsagents and Convenience Store on Minard Road on March 24 appeared to begin two days before. At that time Ahmed had been staying with a mutual friend of Mr Shah in Glasgow.
He seemed to already have an interest in his victim, asking his host whether he knew "Shah from Glasgow".
It was at that point that Ahmed was shown for the first time Facebook posts made by Mr Shah suggesting that he was a prophet.
The killer returned to Bradford on March 23, leaving his friend with no reason to think that anything would come of the incident.
But the following day he was again driving north and during the journey used his mobile to watch a video of Mr Shah claiming to be a prophet.
The funeral of Mr Shah was held at the The Bait Ur Rahman Mosque in the West End of Glasgow
"Listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud," he said in a phone message at the time.
After the attack a passing GP and nurse stopped to help and Mr Shah was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival - less than an hour after the killer first entered his shop.
When police found Ahmed in the nearby bus shelter, he said: "I respect what you do and I have nothing against you and so I am not going to hurt you. I have broken the law and appreciate how you are treating me."
In court, prosecutor Iain McSporran highlighted the "brave" and "valiant" efforts of Mr McFadyen and Athar Shah, who suffered a knife wound to the neck as he defended his brother.
He said: "In particular Athar Shah, who witnessed his brother being murdered and who bears a terrible sense of guilt at what he sees, quite wrongly, as his failure to help him, has suffered greatly both mentally and physically."
Ahmed, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to murdering the respected businessman, who was described by his family as a "brilliant" man.
At an earlier hearing Ahmed declared that he killed Mr Shah in order to protect the honour of Islam.
He told his lawyer to release the unprecedented statement after appearing in court for the second time in relation to the death of Mr Shah.
In a move that left legal experts baffled, he had his lawyer read out a statement which accused Asad of showing disrespect to his religion .
It said: “Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a Prophet.”
As explained by prosecutors, Ahmadis differ from other Muslims in their belief that the Prophet Muhammad was not the final Prophet.
The majority of Muslims believe this view is inconsistent with Islamic belief and many consider it heretical or blasphemous.
Ahmed said he murdered Mr Shah - who was granted asylum when he moved to Glasgow from Pakistan to escape violence in 1998 - not because he was an Ahmadi Muslim however, but because of specific comments he made on social media.
Evidence gathered showed Mr Shah had posted videos on Facebook and YouTube which could be seen as him claiming that he was a Prophet.
The court heard Ahmed was not motivated by malice towards Ahmadi Muslims as a group, but by his offence at Mr Shah's comments.
The shopkeeper regularly posted messages and video clips online which the Crown said gave "little doubt that he was claiming to be a messenger of God and a prophet".
Hours before the attack, Mr Shah had posted a Facebook message wishing all Christians a "Happy Easter".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attended a vigil for Mr Shah
Mr Shah's family said a person's religion, ethnicity or race never mattered to the shopkeeper, who treated everyone with kindness and respect.
They said: "Our love for all mankind and hope for a better world in which we can all live in peace and harmony, as so emphatically embodied by Asad, will endure and prevail.
"Asad left us a tremendous gift and we must continue to honour that gift by loving and taking care of one another."
The parents of Mr Shah said they moved to Scotland from Pakistan because "we never thought that we could be in danger here".
As Ahmadi Muslims they said they faced religious hatred and discrimination in their homeland and sought refuge in Glasgow.
Many people enjoyed visiting Mr Shah in his store and chatting to him daily
His parents said: "We brought our children to this country to seek refuge from Pakistan in 1991 fleeing persecution, religious hatred, discrimination and a danger to our lives because we were Ahmadis.
"We never thought that we could be in danger here.
"We feel imprisoned by our pain and suffering and we have little hope of ever having a normal life again.
"Most of the family, unable to live with this turmoil, pain and fear, has taken a decision to leave Scotland forever."
Two decades on, they said the faith-motivated stabbing of their son as he served behind the counter of the family store has brought "an immense sense of guilt" and a renewed sense of fear for their safety.
But Ahmed said his actions had nothing to do with Christianity, claiming to "love and respect" Jesus Christ.
Asad was described as a pillar of the community. A silent vigil held outside his shop 24 hours after his death was attended by hundreds of people, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
source:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ub ... es-8368097
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