Brixton Mosque

The Brixton Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre (the "Brixton Mosque", or "Masjid ibn Taymeeyah") is a mosque located in Gresham Road in the Brixton area of South London. It is managed by Black British converts and is known for its history of controversy.[1]

The Brixton Mosque
and Islamic Cultural Centre
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
Location
Location1 Gresham Road, Brixton,
South London, England, United Kingdom
Architecture
Completed1990
Website
brixtonmasjid.co.uk

Controversies

Abdullah el-Faisal

Abdullah el-Faisal, a radical Takfiri Muslim cleric who preached in the UK until he was imprisoned for stirring up racial hatred and in 2007 deported to Jamaica, was associated with the Brixton Mosque in the early 1990s, preaching to crowds of up to 500 people.[2][3] In 1993, he was ejected by the mosque's administration who objected to his radical preaching.[4][5] In 2007, the London Evening Standard published an apology for referring to el-Faisal as the "Brixton Mosque preacher" on 12 April 2007, and clarified that el-Faisal only preached at Brixton Mosque in the early 1990s and not after 1994.[3]

Richard Reid (the shoe bomber)

The mosque made international headlines when it was reported that Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber", had attended the mosque from 1996 to 1998 after converting to Islam in jail.[6][7] Abdul Haqq Baker, former chairman of mosque, told the BBC that Reid came to the mosque to learn about Islam, but fell in with what he called "more extreme elements" in London's Muslim community.[8] "We have been in contact with the police numerous times over the last five years to warn of the threat posed by militant groups operating in our area," said Baker in December 2001 after Reid's arrest.[9] He had warned that terrorist "talent scouts" prey on mosques like the Brixton mosque in search of the young and unstable. Baker warned the congregation, "The recruiting has got out of control. Beware. It's your sons, your teenagers who are plucked into these extreme groups."[10] A Time magazine article in 2002 said: "The Brixton Mosque is an ideal hunting ground for terrorist talent spotters since it attracts mainly young worshipers, including ex-convicts it helps rehabilitate."[11]

Zacarias Moussaoui

Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, frequented the mosque between 1996 and 1997.[6] Some sources report that it was during this period that he met Richard Reid, though others are less certain.[12][13][14][15] Moussaoui was expelled from the mosque after he began wearing combat fatigues and a backpack to the mosque, and pressured the cleric to provide him with information on how to join the jihad.[12][13][16]

See also

References
  1. Kelso, Paul, "Terror recruits warning; Young Muslims 'fall prey to extremists'," Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian, 27 December 2001, accessed 11 January 2010
  2. Johnston, Philip (27 May 2007). "7 July preacher Abdullah El-Faisal deported". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  3. "Resolved Complaints: Brixton Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre and London Evening Standard". Press Complaints Commission. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  4. M. R. Haberfeld; Agostino von Hassell, eds. (2009). A New Understanding of Terrorism: Case Studies, Trajectories and Lessons Learned. Springer. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-4419-0114-9.
  5. Odula,Tom (10 January 2010). "Radical Jamaican-born Muslim cleric returns to Kenya after his deportation fails". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  6. James Bamford (2005). A pretext for war: 9/11, Iraq, and the abuse of America's intelligence agencies. Random House, Inc. p. 237. ISBN 9781400030347. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  7. Maria do Céu Pinto (2004). Islamist and Middle Eastern terrorism: a threat to Europe?. Rubbettino Editore srl. p. 47. ISBN 978-88-498-0887-2. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  8. "UK | Shoe bomb suspect 'one of many'". BBC News. 26 December 2001. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  9. ""London Mosque Leader: We Warned About Radicals," [[Fox News]], 27 December 2001, accessed 11 January 2010". Fox News. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  10. Philip Jenkins (2007). God's continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's religious crisis. Oxford University Press US. p. 224. ISBN 9780195313956.
  11. "Helen Gibson, "Looking for Trouble," Time, 14 January 2002, accessed 11 January 2010". Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  12. Jane Corbin (2003). Al-Qaeda: in search of the terror network that threatens the world. Nation Books. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-56025-523-9.
  13. Atkins, Stephen E. (2004). Encyclopedia of modern worldwide extremists and extremist groups, p. 271, Stephen E. Atkins, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, ISBN 0-313-32485-9, ISBN 978-0-313-32485-7, accessed 11 January 2010. ISBN 9780313324857. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  14. "Who is Richard Reid?". BBC News. 28 December 2001. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  15. Hoge, Warren (27 December 2001). "A Nation challenged-the convert; Shoe-Bomb Suspect Fell in With Extremists". New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  16. "The Religious Trajectories of the Moussaoui Family", Katherine Donahue, ISIM Review 21 (Spring 2008), p. 18, accessed 11 January 2001

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