Islamic extremism links emerge
by Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern:
This week, The Times reported that one of the trustees of Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, Mohammed Sawalha, has been appointed a member of the political bureau of Hamas. According to The Independent, the Mosque claims that it was unaware of the appointment.
Hamas is designated an outlawed terrorist organisation by the US and the EU, meaning that its assets can be seized, and its members jailed. In the UK, however, only the military wing of Hamas is outlawed which means that Mr Sawalha has committed no offence here.
“In charge of terrorist operations”
The Sunday Times reported in 2008 that Mr Sawalha was named in US court documents as having previously been “in charge of Hamas terrorist operations in the West Bank” and had met two men accused of laundering millions of dollars to finance the group.
Mr Sawalha was appointed a trustee of Finsbury Park Mosque in 2010. He has been a director of Islam Expo which promoted Islamic lifestyles. He is also a former president of the British Muslim Initiative, and a former director of the Muslim Association of Britain.
Jeremy Corbyn a regular visitor
The Mosque lies in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency, and Mr Corbyn has been a regular visitor to the Mosque. He is reported to have met Mr Sawalha during a visit to the mosque in 2015. Mr Corbyn has previously been criticised for describing members of Hamas and Hezbollah as “friends”. He has since expressed regret at his choice of words.
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