27 years for Bradford cabbie who murdered '˜prophet' from rival Muslim sect

A Muslim taxi driver from Bradford who murdered a shopkeeper for claiming he was a prophet, has been jailed for at least 27 years.

By The Newsroom Tuesday, 9th August 2016, 10:56 am Updated Thursday, 25th August 2016, 8:49 pm

The shop where murder victim Asad Shah worked in Shawlands, Glasgow, as Bradford taxi driver Tanveer Ahmed is sentenced today for stabbing the 40-year-old.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, travelled from Yorkshire to Glasgow to confront Asad Shah at his store before pulling out a knife and stabbing the 40-year-old.

Ahmed, who did not know Mr Shah, claimed to have been offended by clips the shopkeeper had posted online which he said ‘’disrespected the Prophet Muhammad’’.

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The Bradford father-of-three was given a life sentence at the High Court in Glasgow after admitting the murder in Glasgow’s Shawlands area on March 24.

Judge Lady Rae told Ahmed he must serve a minimum of 27 years before being considered for release.

Ahmed watched a clip featuring Mr Shah on his mobile phone as he travelled to Glasgow on the day of the murder and was heard in a phone message to say “listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud”.

When he arrived at the shop, Ahmed said he warned the shopkeeper he was there to kill him and asked him to stop claiming to be a prophet.

Mr Shah’s brother and a shop assistant tried to fend him off as he launched his attack on the popular businessman, described by locals as a ‘’pillar of the community’’.

The Shah family, who moved to Scotland from Pakistan in the 1990s to escape persecution, belong to the Ahmadi sect of Islam whose beliefs differ from the majority of Muslims.

The court heard their belief that Prophet Muhammad was not the final prophet was a view many consider blasphemous.

In a statement released through his lawyer after the killing, Ahmed said: “If I had not done this others would have and there would be more killings and violence in the world.”