BY HAMZA A. BAJWA
Channel 4 has again come under fire from Muslim organisations for airing another Dispatches programme targeting one of Britain's largest and most respected mosques.
East London Mosque (ELM) and London Muslim Centre (LMC) has been accused of "housing a fundamentalist organisation". Presenter Andrew Gilligan said that the mosque was associated with the 'Islamist' organisation Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) which he said was using tax payers' money to enter British politics.
But ELM condemned Gilligan's "distorted and utterly misleading portrayal" accusing the producers of using "factual errors, innuendo and an extraordinarily disingenuous selection of commentators".
Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) Chair, Massoud Shadjareh, said: "The attack on IFE is indicative of the witch-hunt against Muslim civil society participation. Muslims are constantly asked to be active participants in civil society and when they do so they are viewed with mistrust and suspicion."
Gilligan said ELM's claim of moderation was "questionable" after giving "20 extremist preachers" a platform over the last three years. One of the speakers was Anwar al-Awlaki, described by the United States as the spiritual leader of two of the 9/11 hijackers and accused of having links with attempted Detroit airline bomber Umar Farouk Abulmutallab and Major Nidal Hassan who has been accused of murdering 12 US soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas.
A similar connection between Awlaki and ELM was attempted by The Times' Sean O'Neill and Richard Kerbaj in November last year.
But ELM responded by sending a letter to the Times Editor in which it clarified its position: ELM quashed any links by replying: "The East London Mosque and the London Muslim Centre disapprove of Anwar Al-Awlaqi's recent comments regarding Major Nidal Hasan's actions in the USA… we do not support Anwar Al-Awlaki or his comments. We unequivocally condemn the actions of Major Hasan [sic], and the reported statement of
Anwar Al-Awlaki expressing support for him."
The programme also accused the IFE, whose main office is situated in the LMC, of seeking to "impose the group's views on society". Houriya Ahmed of the controversial Centre for Social Cohesion said the group "believes in creating an Islamic state; it believes in following a medieval interpretation of Islamic law and that being imposed upon the whole of society; it believes in creating a Muslim bloc that adheres to their point and their interpretation of Islam".
The IFE, however, at a press conference said that it wholly rejects the allegations made against it and it was untrue that it "supports extremism… seeks to establish an Islamic State or 'Caliphate' in Britain… seeks to impose Sharia Law in Britain… has 'infiltrated' Tower Hamlets Labour Party… [and] received public funds or 'Prevent' funding". On its website IFE stated: "It is noteworthy that Dispatches provided no evidence for these allegations, relying instead on sensationalist presentation techniques and 'undercover reporting' which revealed absolutely no wrongdoing. "We are confident that our members and the wider community will reject the distorted and alarmist manner in which 'Dispatches' has seen fit to portray our voluntary organisation."
Gillian also connects the IFE with the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari. MCB's media secretary, Tufael Ahmed, said Dispatches had used "out of context quotations" to try and portray British Muslims as "somehow foreign, alien, extremist and imposing their way of life on the others". He said that claims made against ELM and IFE were "a gross and highly insulting misrepresentation of bodies that have done much to serve the common good" and "have a long and proud record".
He added: "The central charge made by the programme is that both institutions are guilty of 'entryism', a curious accusation at a time when British Muslims are positively encouraged to take full part in the civic and democratic life of our nation… The message from this programme is clear, British Muslims have no right to take part in this country's great democratic culture. Other than the far-right, such a divisive message should not resonate with reasoned people who believe in democracy and a plural society."
He further said: "We reject entirely the allegation that the MCB is 'dominated' by any organisation/s." With over 500 affiliates and "a rigorous election process" he said that "there is no scope whatsoever, real or perceived, for any affiliate/s or group of affiliates to dominate the decision-making process".
ELM further said that its facility was "open and accessible to all, Muslim and non-Muslim alike". "We try to ensure that those who use our facilities, including for speaking engagements, reflect the values of moderation and tolerance we hold and adhere to. A huge number of speakers, and of the widest diversity, has [sic] spoken at the Centre… On rare occasion it may be that someone, speaking at an event for which a room or hall has been hired for example, says something we neither agree with nor approve of. It would be very misleading to characterise our Mosque on the basis of these few exceptions, rather the norm of the great diversity of the speakers who maintain the highest standards we aspire to. It is not possible for any organisation in a position such as ours to vet and approve in advance every statement to be made by every speaker addressing audiences at the Mosque and Centre. Intellectual, political, social and religious debate is one of the cornerstones of a democratic society and many organisations (including the ELM and LMC) permit a wide range of speakers who hold varied and often conflicting views. Self-evidently that does not mean that the organisations in questions support or espouse every view expressed by every speaker they host and it would be ludicrous to suggest otherwise."