Father of UK suspect says my son not a fanatic

AMMAN, July 2 (Reuters) The father of one of the suspects arrested in Britain in connection with the London and Glasgow car bomb plots said today his son was a good Muslim who had never shown any interest in political Islam.

''He was a devout Muslim but not strict,'' retired teacher Jameel Abdul Qader Asha, 55, told Reuters in Jordan.

''He prayed like any Muslim but was not a fanatic,'' said Asha, the father of eight children, including three doctors. He was seated at his home in the Jordanian capital Amman, holding a photograph of his serious-looking 26-year-old son, Mohammed.

''I am sure Mohammed does not have any links of this nature, because his history in Jordan and since he was a kid does not include any kind of activity of this nature,'' the father said.

Mohammed, who was born in Saudi Arabia but brought up and trained as a doctor in Jordan, was arrested with his wife as they were driving on a highway in northern England on Saturday.

They were detained hours after police in London discovered two cars loaded with fuel, gas canisters and nails that had been parked near a popular night club in the heart of the capital.

A mobile phone was left in one of the cars. It is believed police have been able to move rapidly to track down suspects connected to the failed bomb plots because of telephone calls made to and from that mobile phone.

Barely 36 hours after the London attacks were foiled, two men in Scotland rammed a four-wheel-drive vehicle into a terminal at Glasgow airport and set the car ablaze.

Police said the London and Glasgow attacks were connected.

Another of those arrested was also a doctor, trained in Iraq, a police source has said.

Asha said his son had arrived in London in late 2004, accompanied by his wife, after finding a post to pursue postgraduate studies in neurosurgery at a British hospital.

By his father's account, Mohammed and his wife had settled in well in Britain and were happy with their lives. He said they had a son, Anas, who was born in Britain almost 18 months ago.

''He told us people were nice and considerate and did not discriminate against them on the basis of their religion or colour,'' the father said.

Mohammed was a bright child who won a scholarship from a special secondary school for gifted children, said Asha, whose family comes originally from the West Bank city of Hebron.

In recent days, the family had been unable to reach their son on his mobile phone and began to worry that something might be wrong.

Reuters RKM DB2326