This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3603
September 10, 2008
Patrick Mercer MP calls for investigation into orthodox religious group
color-666">Policemen outside the Tablighi Jamaat mosque in Dewsbury, which was attended by the leader of the July 7 plot
Sean O'NeillThe role of an orthodox religious movement in the radicalisation of Muslim youth should be closely examined by government, a senior opposition MP said last night.
Patrick Mercer, a former Shadow Security Minister, said the aftermath of the liquid bomb trial was the right time to investigate Tablighi Jamaat.
The movement, which urges its followers to replicate the lifestyle of the Prophet Muhammad, wants to build a 12,000-capacity mosque beside the London 2012 Olympic park in East London.
If the plan is given the go-ahead, the mosque would become Britain's largest place of worship.
The majority of defendants in the terror trial that ended this week professed links with Tablighi, which claims to have millions of followers around the world.
Ahmed Abdulla Ali, 27, the plot ringleader who was convicted of conspiracy to murder, told Woolwich Crown Court that he had been a Tablighi follower since he was in his mid-teens.
The cell's quartermaster, Assad Sarwar, 28, convicted of conspiring to murder, was also active in the Tablighi movement.
Mohammed Gulzar, 27, who was acquitted of terrorist charges, entered Britain using a false identity and claimed to be a Tablighi Jamaat missionary when he was arrested.
The mosque in Walthamstow, northeast London, where many of the defendants worshipped, is controlled by Tablighi imams. The movement was founded in India in 1927 and spread worldwide with missionaries travelling on foot.
Its European headquarters are in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Moham- mad Sidique Khan, the leader of the July 7 bombers, worshipped at its mosque there.
French and American intelligence agencies have expressed concerns that Tablighi's ultra-orthodox stance attracts al-Qaeda recruiters.
Mr Mercer told The Times: "I think it is now time that the Home Secretary took a long, cool look at how this organisation [Tablighi Jamaat] might be exploited by extremists."
A statement on the movement's website says: "We utterly refute any links to terrorism or terrorists."
The organisation has yet to submit a planning application to build the mosque.
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3603