London's
"Largest Mosque in Europe" Closer to Reality
Although
Tablighi Jamaat promotes itself as tolerant, American security officials
say it is a "recruiting ground" for al-Qaeda, and French
intelligence officials describe the group as the "antechamber of
fundamentalism." The French Tablighi expert Marc Gaborieau says the
group's ultimate objective is nothing short of a "planned conquest
of the world" in the spirit of jihad.
Local
citizens—including many Muslims—are concerned that the project is actually
a smokescreen for an ambitious plan to establish a hardline Islamic
enclave in East London.
"What
marks out Tablighi Jamaat is its unwillingness to enter into dialogue
with representatives of different religions and non-religious beliefs.
Jamaat does not promote social integration of women. Tablighi women are
required to observe purdah, or seclusion. In public places,
Tablighi women are required to cover their entire body with a burkha and
face veil and must always be accompanied by a male relative. Therefore
the female members of this movement—as well as future generations—do not
integrate into mainstream British society." — Tehmina Kazi, Director
of British Muslims for Secular Democracy, in her 2011 Summary Proof of
Evidence. This month, she abruptly withdrew from giving evidence on the
first day of the Inquiry after being "persuaded" by Muslim
hardliners.
By
successfully silencing Kazi, Tablighi Jamaat has effectively removed a
highly effective obstacle. Now all eyes will be on Eric Pickles, the cabinet
minister who will decide later this year whether the mosque project goes
ahead.
Supporters
of Newham's mega-mosque project demonstrate in London. (Image source:
Newham People's Alliance)
A radical Islamic group is one step closer to building one of the
world's largest mosques in London after a star Muslim opponent of the
controversial mega-mosque was intimidated into silence.
Tablighi Jamaat—a fundamentalist Islamic sect opposed to Western
values such as democracy and human rights, but committed to
"perpetual Jihad" to spread Islam around the world—is fighting
a no-holds-barred battle to build a massive mosque complex in West Ham, a
neighborhood in the East London Borough of Newham.
The proposed mosque would be built on a 16-acre site near the Olympic
Stadium, and would have a capacity for more than 9,000 worshippers. It
would be outfitted with towering minarets, an Islamic library, a dining
hall, tennis courts, sports facilities, hundreds of parking spaces and
apartments for visiting Muslim clerics, all of which would make the East
London mosque the largest religious building in Britain and the largest
mosque in Europe.
|
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment