"Anyone who suffers for Islam will be rewarded," he said.
Asked about the association between Tablighi Jamaat and terrorist groups, he replied: "Tablighi is like Oxford University. We have intelligent people -- doctors, solicitors, businessmen -- but one or two will become drug dealers, fraudsters. But you won't blame Oxford University for that. You see, it does not matter if someone speaks in favor or against this effort. Everything happens with the will of God."
Another follower added: "Sometimes the youngsters say that if they saw President [George W.] Bush they would chop his head off, and things like that. But we're discouraged from talking about politics. If elders say these things it is out of anger. They're not dangerous, they can't actually do anything."
By the early hours, 300 followers had volunteered for a three-day trip. One man who knows six of the suspects arrested last week leaned against the wall, the City of London glowing behind his shoulders, and adjusted his cap.
"Do you see now?" he said. "Tablighi is not the problem. It is the solution. It is another world in here, completely different from the world outside."
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