Munawar Hussain, a 59-year-old terrorist, was found guilty in court on Wednesday for stabbing two women inside a Marks & Spencer in the English town of Burnley. Both women survived the attack.
The motivation behind the December 2020 attack was that he felt the grocery chain funded "atrocities on Palestinians," Hussain declared at the time.
The attack at Marks & Spencers
As he was carrying out the attack, Hussain carried a note that read, "O Israel, you are inflicting atrocities on Palestinians and Marks & Spencer is helping you financially."
Hussain's wife had hidden a knife from him a few days before the attack, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
Marks & Spencer is well-known for its Jewish roots. Jewish immigrant Michael Marks founded the company in Northern England while attempting to restart his life after escaping persecution.
"Marks and his brother-in-law Sieff along with several family members were strong supporters of Zionism. In fact, they became known in pro-Zionist circles as ‘The Family’. They gave generously to the Zionist cause, believing in the importance of a Jewish national home in what was at the time called Palestine," according to Christians United For Israel.
Munawar Hussain's court trial
In court, Hussain did not appear remorseful, claiming that "Allah will not be upset with me or angry with me and he will be happy with me,” according to the Jewish Chronicle.
There were inconsistencies within his case. Hussain told the police that he wanted to kill the women and other shoppers but told the jury that he only wanted to injure them. Hussain acknowledged that he would have liked to stab more people, but his knife was caught in the second woman's handbag.
The victims of the stabbings told reporters that they felt Hussain's motive was to kill them. Samantha Worthington, a 41-year-old branch manager of the store, said "If I had fallen, he would have killed me. I just thought, ‘This f****r is not having me, I have got three kids and he is not taking me away from my kids.’
The jury was also informed of Hussain's history of bipolar disorder but told that he was on medication and had the capacity to digest the morality of his actions.
“An offense arising out of claims that Israel was causing atrocities against Muslims, and an attack of retribution for that, at face value, is precisely the definition of a terrorist offense,” judge Nicholas Dean was quoted by the Jewish Chronicle.