A convicted terrorist is suing a pub in the United Kingdom after he claimed he was “deeply offended” by its sign, describing the pub’s sign as “racist” and even claiming that the image "scares him.”
A convicted Islamic terrorist in suing a pub in Buckinghamshire for £2,000 over its "deeply offensive" name.
Pub owner Robbie Hayes: "I don't think he's ever been in this town."@THEJamesWhale @virtualash pic.twitter.com/dh0VkXiJ1h— Talk (@TalkTV) December 20, 2024
60-year-old Khalid Baqa, who was previously imprisoned for spreading jihadi content, is filing a civil claim against the Saracen's Head Inn in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, for £1,850 over the pub’s choice of sign.
Baqa described the pub’s “racist sign” as “depicting a brown-skinned bearded Arab/Turk male with a turban,” which he argues is "xenophobic" and “incites violence against a specific race.”
The former inmate is now suing the pub’s landlord, 52-year-old Robbie Hayes, for compensation. If he wins his case, he previously pledged to sue more than 30 other pubs throughout Britain, although he has since told The Independent he has no plans to do so.
According to the documents he submitted for his claim, Baqa said, "While walking through the area, I was shocked and deeply offended by what I saw. I saw pub signage depicting a brown-skinned bearded Arab/Turk male with a turban and captioned ‘The Saracen’s Head’.”
Exactly why is this racist? It's not like the Saracen's head is on a pike.
— TheRealMac (@TheSurrealMac) December 16, 2024
He also added that the sign “instilled worry and fear in me since it was clearly xenophobic, racist, and inciting violence to certain people. I immediately complained to the pub and requested the signage be removed.”
Baqa also claims he contacted the Saracen's Head Inn on four occasions and even visited in person, although neither Hayes nor the pub’s employees had any records of his visits or complaints.
The convicted filed a “claim of money” form, an application to the county court for money someone says they are owed.
“I’ve always been offended by pub names like these, but I’ve only recently discovered how I can challenge them online.” Baqa said about his civil claim, adding that he had “stopped all the terrorism stuff now.”
There are pubs all over England with names like King's head, Queen's head, black's head (replaced with pics of black horses, lol), bull's head, etc. They're just pictures of people's heads. He thinks it's inciting violence because, being a Muslim, he thinks it's about beheading.
— Suffrajetski (@suffrajetski) December 16, 2024
Baqa told The Independent he first noticed the sign when planning a walking trip in the Chiltern Hills. If he won his claim, he would donate the money to orphans in Gaza or Syria.
Hayes described Baqa’s claim as “ludicrous,” saying he received a letter from His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service at the end of November last year with a “list of demands” Baqa made.
“It's ludicrous. I don’t think he has a leg to stand on. It’s been called The Saracen’s Head for 500 years. Why, overnight, has Khalid Baqa become offended by it?” Hayes said. “I don’t think one man can change the historic name of a pub that's been called that for 500 years because he doesn’t like it. It’s ridiculous.”
He also defended the pub’s name and sign, insisting none of the pub’s patrons are racist and the name has cultural significance and is "simply historic.”
Call it “The Knights Templar” or the “Crusaders Inn” then watch the meltdown.
— Ellis Davies (@Geoffdragon) December 16, 2024
Baqa was jailed for two years in 2013 after admitting to having 300 computer disks of terrorist materials in his car and home. He was again imprisoned in 2018 after admitting to five counts of disseminating terrorist material.
