Finsbury Park Mosque

[scooping]

Finsbury Park Mosque was, until recently, the home of hate preacher Abu Hamza, eventually thrown out of the country. Judging by today's TV I am now expected to believe that it is the home of moderate, tolerant, enlightened Islamists. Can this miraculous conversion be ascribed to the Prophet, Peace be Upon Him, or to expediency?

[Mamyalynne]

Hang on NJ, are you saying what I think you're saying?

[pastafreak]

A strange religion might be one that requires devotees to squeeze into a tiny black box and repeat sins real or perceived to a man they can't see....or eat fish on Fridays...or refuse blood transfusions...or worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster...

[douglas9401]

Jeepers! Whadaya think he's saying?

[mikey4444]

NJ.........what business is it of anyone, when they choose to worship their God ?

As a boy, I used to enjoy going to Midnight Mass at Xmas, mainly because us boys got to hold a lighted candle, and we had hot mince pies afterwards !

[youngmafbog]

Last time I looked freedom pf speech and thought was stil in place in the UK.

Or has Comrade Corbyn got into power since I last looked?

[New Judge]

I think all religious practices are strange. Some are more strange than others.

I'd be interested to learn what you think I'm saying, Many.

[Old_Geezer]

I thought you were implying it wasn't a religious meeting they'd left.

[gulliver1]

This preacher Abu Hamza was he the one that Theresa May, the then Home Sec, tried for quite a few years to deport???.

[Peter Pedant]

power of god and repentance

did nt Martin McGuiness turn from murderer into a saintly man ?
he was christian by the way

[Peter Pedant]

yes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hamza_al-Masri

[anotheoldgit]

mikey4444

/// and the actions of the people present to be applauded. ///

Applauded??? If it hadn't been for the actions of their Imam (who incidentally is now being described a hero) the mob would have slaughtered him.

[dieseldick]

preachers the should all be vetted, carefully scrutinised , any hate preaching or any preaching against christianity, jews, gays or our laws etc etc then kick them scumbags to hell out of our midst .

we cannot tolerate them anymore !!
government & police to blame for this whole mess for letting that filthy vile rat choudary and his minions preach openly on our streets .

[naomi24]

Mikey, // the actions of the people present to be applauded.//

The Iman who is credited with saving the perpetrator’s life when he and a few others protected him from the mob perhaps, but that’s it.

. http://news.sky.com/story/imam-protected-finsbury-park-suspect-as-angry-crowd-restrained-him-10920079

[vetuste_ennemi]

When it comes to Islam moderation, like beauty, can be in the eye of the beholder, Scooping.

Since Abu Hamza got kicked out the mosque has an impeccable record of out-reach, community cohesion projects, interfaith dialogue, open days, photo-shots with Jeremy Corbyn etc. and probably ticks all the "moderation" boxes.

Whether what the mosque actually teaches, and what most of its members actually believe, is moderate in the sense you and I probably understand the word is questionable.

If you want to find out the flavour of Islam being taught at a given mosque there's a directory of the UK's mosques and Islamic cultural centres. Here's the entry for Finsbury Park:

http://www.mosquedirectory.co.uk/mosques/england/london/islington/finsbury-park/North-London-Central-Mosque-Finsbury-Park-Islington-London/1200

You'll note that the "following" is "Salafi - Ikhwan" and that the mosque is managed by Arabs. (Ikhwan is a new term for me. Apparently it was the Bedouin army which helped the house of Saud gain power in today's Saudi Arabia.)

So the imams may well be imported from the Middle East, and they (all) and the congregation (mainly) will have a Salafist bent. Most of us have heard of Salafism: it's the type of Islam taught and practised in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It is a form of Islam described in Wiki as "ultra-conservative". Judge for yourself whether that phrase is equivalent to "least moderate").

[Khandro]

v_e Please see my new post;
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1557680.html
But what will the salafists have to say?

[Peter Pedant]

//Ikhwan is a new term for me. //

it is an irregular plural of "brother" (akhu) and used in a religious sense - so 'brethren' will do nicely. or brotherhood

here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikhwan

[scooping]

So some of you are saying that those who venerated Abu Hamza one minute are now suddenly transformed into lovers of open days and inter-faith dialogue. Forgive me for being a little cynical but how did this remarkable 'Damascene' conversion come about, praiseworthy though it doubtless is?

[scooping]

And Diseldick, The SS would sit in on all Christian services to monitor the preacher's sermons, lest they criticise the regime. Some 2,000 Catholic priests in consquence perished in Auschwitz. I do hope you're not suggesting something even vaguely similar here.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Thank you, Peter.

[DTCwordfan]

what I find mind-boggling is that the murderer asked a couple on the way in, "Can you tell me the way to the Finsbury Mosque?" - unfortunately, they led him in, not that they would know that he was a right-wing loon. How must they feel today, not that they were to know he was so hell-bent?

However, you would have thought that this Cardiff-git would have done his homework - it's almost laughable in concept - 'I'm a terrorist - could you tell me the way to....?? (make your choice of landmarks anywhere in the UK or Europe).