Hindus in Britain have expressed serious concern over news that a radical Islamic preacher who called for the mass murder of Hindus, Jews and Westerners is to be released from jail within weeks, after serving just over a third of his original sentence.

The Jamaican-born Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal was sentenced in 2003 for nine years, convicted of inciting racial hatred and soliciting the murder of 'infidels'. The sentence was later reduced to seven years on appeal.

In his sermons, El-Faisal encouraged Muslims to wage all out war against non-Muslims. He has supported the use of nuclear and chemical weapons, and encouraged his congregations to train in operating planes, tanks, Kalashnikov rifles and missile launchers. He regularly called for the killing of non-Muslims, particularly Jews and Hindus. In one lecture, he remarked, "How do you fight a Jew? You kill a Jew. In the case of Hindus, by bombing their businesses." In another talk, he suggested that Hindus should be slaughtered and their bodies used to fuel nuclear power plants.

El-Faisal is believed to have radicalised many Muslims in the United Kingdom, including Abdullah Shaheed Jamal, one of the 7/7 suicide bombers. Videos of his lectures have been found circulating in High Wycombe, where police are concentrating inquiries into last month's foiled bomb plot involving airliners travelling from Heathrow.

James Ujaama, an American citizen currently imprisoned for conspiring to aid the Taliban, Richard Reid, who attempted to detonate a shoe-bomb on a transatlantic flight, and Zacarias Moussaoui, a co-conspirator in the September 11 attacks, have all reportedly attended his lectures in the past. Many in Britain have expressed concern about El-Faisal's release, particularly Hindus and other groups that were singled out for particular hate and defamation by the cleric.

"The release of El-Faisal poses a serious threat to Muslims and non-Muslims alike," said Kalpna Chauhan, spokesperson of Hindu Human Rights. "We fear that inadequate steps will be taken to prevent him from continuing his hate propaganda via means such as the Internet. Furthermore, the short duration of his jail sentence may serve as an encouragement rather than a deterrent to others who might walk in his footsteps."