Backlash at the mosque

By Andrew Gilligan 714PM GMT thirteen March 2010

Comments 48 |

In the dual weeks since the Islamic Forum of Europe were unprotected by The Sunday and Channel 4s Dispatches as hardline fundamentalists personally infiltrating the domestic system, they have been furiously protesting their "proven lane jot down of village cohesion". Last week, however, the organization showed the loyal face.

"Weve tracked you down," pronounced the IFEs village affairs co-ordinator, Azad Ali, in a webcast targeting the Channel 4 contributor "Atif", who went clandestine at the IFEs headquarters, the East London Mosque, filming the groups loyal views and the boasts that it tranquil the internal Tower Hamlets council. "Yes, Atif, weve got a design of you and a lot some-more than you thought we had. Weve tracked you down to opposite places. And if people are gonna spin what Ive usually pronounced in to a threat, thats their fault, innit?"

Poets take up a new troubadour - complicated record Terrorist Andrew Ibrahim was incited in by the Muslim village Judge warns Muslim extremists If you select to live in this country, you live by the rules. Time to transparent the airways Conspiracy theories? Blame Western self-hatred and lousy training

Mr Alis difference lay not often with his purpose as an central confidant to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, and to the police, but maybe his distrurbance is understandable. The clandestine reporters filmed him observant "Democracy, if it equates to not implementing the sharia, no ones going to determine with that."

The reporters found that, far from the protestations of being merely a "social gratification organisation", the IFE is an organized domestic transformation dedicated to formulating an "Islamic amicable and domestic order" by "entryism" in to mainstream approved institutions.

Today, though, as the dust settles after this months revelations, there are indications that that sort of change might have peaked. One of the infancy perceivable signs of the Islamists flourishing hold over Tower Hamlets legislature was the rarely argumentative offer to have supposed "hijab gates" outrageous arches in the figure of the Muslim deceive at possibly finish of the areas critical Brick Lane. Local critics, together with majority Muslims, pronounced it was "Islamic triumphalism" and an try to "religiously brand" an area that is home to majority opposite cultures. Last week, the legislature withdrew the plans.

Last week, too, multiform internal schools, that had been due to send pupils to an eventuality called the "Big Read" at the East London Mosque, voiced they were pulling out. The eventuality organisers were forced to send raging texts delectable for some-more children. Many internal Muslim headteachers have secretly told The Sundayof their be concerned about the code of Islam being preached at the mosque.

And yesterday it looked as if vigour was ascent on the second-most critical military officer at Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Ali a man with a argumentative practice story and close links to the IFE. Mr Ali, the partner arch executive, has shortcoming for legislature grants. Under him, augmenting sums of legislature income have been channelled to IFE-controlled organisations.

Tower Hamlets arch executive, Kevan Collins, reliable that a censure had been perceived about Mr Ali from an additional supervision organisation called the National College for Leadership of Schools.

Council sources pronounced the claim was that Mr Ali had been moonlighting, in legislature time, with the college. "Any allegations of that inlet will be entirely investigated," Mr Collins said. "Every piece of of staff is underneath a contractual requisite to work full-time for the legislature unless categorically settled otherwise." A grave review in to Mr Ali is expected to be launched tomorrow.

Approached yesterday, Mr Ali did not repudiate the allegation, observant usually "I cannot have a criticism on that since I need to check out just what the college have said."

"These are really critical signs," pronounced Badrul Islam, arch senior manager of a internal intentional organisation, the Ethnic Minority Enterprise Project, and a heading Muslim supporter opposite the Islamists. "The IFE have really taken a strike and they are in to repairs limitation. This story has finished dual things it has since them notice that what they are you do will not be allowed, and it has done internal people realize that the IFE are challengable."

Mr Islam, who featured in The Sundayreports and the Channel 4 film, pronounced the story had combined a "huge frenzy" in the village and he had been congratulated by dozens of people for reception part. "But," he added, "they all pronounced one alternative thing, "Take caring of yourself, or "Are you going to be all right? "

So far, detached from a integrate of different write threats, zero has happened. But the IFEs opponents in Tower Hamlets know that the conflict is far from over.

The hijab gates might have gone, or be on hold, but the augmenting impetus of the hijab itself and the all-enveloping cousin, the niqab by the ranks of internal women shows the expansion of Islamist change in the area. In Bangladesh, where scarcely all the internal Muslims originate, it is roughly different to see lonesome women. But in presumably liberal, physical easterly London, the streets are filled with them. This month, Shiria Khatun, a Tower Hamlets councillor, called in the military after reception different genocide threats since of her "Western" dress.

Other unfortunate trends have been seen in the East End. Several churches have been attacked, though the areas churchmen try to fool around down the eremite inlet of the incidents. There has been a large climb in attacks on happy people. Jewish story tours of the area have twice been theme to attacks by gangs of internal youths. A internal Hindu group, the Sanaton Association, had to move the events after they were regularly pounded by Muslim youths. And, nonetheless there are still majority nonconformist attacks on Muslims, the fastest-rising organisation of victims of competition attacks has been whites.

There is zero to indicate that the IFE and the mosque are at the back of any of this. But, rather as secular assault in an area tends to climb when the BNP becomes active there, a identical outcome is being seen in the East End. At slightest eighteen hatred and nonconformist preachers hosted at the mosque over the past year, together with majority anti-gay preachers, have probably, for instance, helped inspire the flourishing meridian of dogmatism towards homosexuals.

The IFE has taken substantial carry out over this Bangladeshi area, even though it is the successor of a party, Jamaat-e-Islami, that opposite and fought opposite the really origination of Bangladesh. War crimes were allegedly committed by a little JI members during the countrys 1971 fight of independence. Some of those people fled to London and played critical purposes in the substructure of the IFE.

Ansar Ahmed Ullah, an additional internal competition of the IFE, says that internal people are undone with the approach in that the white domestic investiture has permitted and legitimised a mosque whose loyal inlet they do not crop up to understand. "We have told them majority times about these people," he says. "But you still get people similar to Boris Johnson, supervision ministers and Prince Charles going down there. People see that, and it gives them credibility."

It is easy to assimilate because the politicians have a direct route for the East London Mosque. Many of the areas alternative mosques are small, scabby converted buildings, with bark paint and a customers of comparison men. The East London Mosque is large, glossy and modern, with an air of youth, purpose and a impressive PR machine. Nor, of course, are the infancy at the mosque extremist. But there are, at the really least, inconsistencies in between the summary tailored for outward expenditure and what essentially goes on there.

The IFEs energy is about to be subjected to dual key tests. In 6 weeks, there will be internal elections, with multiform IFE councillors up for re-election, and a referendum on carrying an inaugurated mayor for Tower Hamlets, a post in to that the IFE wants to place one of the people. "That will be crucial," says Badrul Islam. "We think we have the numbers to organize opposite that."

But maybe the organisations infancy critical plea comes from Bangladesh. Jamaat-e-Islami has never been as absolute there as it is in easterly London, and Bangladeshs supervision is organising to have multiform JI members charged for their purported fight crimes during the 1971 ransom struggle. Among them is expected to be a man who plays a heading purpose in the East London Mosque.

The fundamentalists sojourn deeply embedded in easterly London. But in the "Islamic Republic" of Tower Hamlets, the recoil has started.