Posted on 11/07/2008 9:31:33 PM PST by americanophile
London’s proposed ‘mega-mosque’ has been allowed to complete its application for planning permission, despite calls from one councillor to remove the “illegal and irresponsible” mosque.
At Newham Council meeting last Monday night, Cllr Alan Craig asked the Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, to enforce a compulsory purchase order (CPO) to reclaim the site from the Abbey Mills Mosque Trust, members of Islamic sect Tablighi Jamaat.
Cllr Craig said: “Tablighi Jamaat intend that the mega-mosque will be their new international headquarters, yet the current temporary mosque on the Abbey Mills site has now been operating illegally and irresponsibly without planning permission for two years.”
A spokesperson for the Abbey Mills Mosque Trust said: “I don’t know how it is illegal. We’ve owned the site since 1996, and we’ve been regularly meeting with the authorities, and they’re happy so long as we continue to make progress on the project.”
Sir Robin said: “The Trust have advised that they are currently preparing another application so that they can continue using the site for a further temporary period.
“Development of the area will have to be resident-friendly and the facilities must serve everyone in the local community. There is currently no evidence that the Trust will not do [this] and therefore we are unable to CPO the site until they submit their masterplan for the site.”
The site currently has a temporary mosque, but Cllr Craig is concerned for the safety of people visiting the site on the grounds of an old chemical plant: “What’s going on there? We don’t know, the police don’t know, there’s no health and safety because they haven’t made a proper planning application.”
There have long been concerns raised over the character of Tablighi Jamaat, which is based in Pakistan. Cllr Craig said: “Muslim commentator Ziauddin Sardar has said that Tablighi Jamaat (the group behind the Abbey Mills mega-mosque proposals) has been infiltrated by banned and militant Islamic organisations, has a network in Britain that 'works invisibly, hidden from prying eyes', and that it is 'not as harmless as most Muslims seem to think'.”
Many Newham Muslims have in fact protested at the site, with 2,500 signing a Sunni Friends of Newham petition against the mosque. A spokesperson for the Trust said: “The petition has now been withdrawn. We are in fact working with the group to help with the development of the mosque.”
“There was great pressure put on the organizer of the petition by elders in the Muslim community, but I’ve not heard about the petition being withdrawn,” said Cllr Craig. “I want to solve this democratically. I respect these people, they’re my neighbours.”
And the first visit from a foreign dignitary.......President Obama with his prayer rug.
The muzzies got the permit to demolish St Peters? Excellent..../sarc
(St. Paul’s)
Target of opportunity. 1200 rug sniffers in one place! ;-)
Excuse me, 1200 should read 12,000. ;-)
see, you know what I was referring to.
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