HP readers will be familiar with “iEngage“, an Islamist spinning outfit. According to an internal document, its trustees include Mohamed Ali Harrath of the Islam Channel and Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain.
Inayat Bunglawala is iEngage’s “Advisor on Research and Policy”.
One of his latest exploits was to fire off a letter of complaint to the Oldham Evening Chronicle. He objected to the use of the word “giant” in the headline of this article about a mosque building project in Oldham.
This was the paper’s response:
Thanks for your letter. I would just point out that the Oldham Chronicle story abut the mosque was written by Usma Raja who, along with her family, lives in the area and will use the mosque and its other facilities. Clearly Usma did not use the word “giant” to “incite fear and loathing” but as an indication of its scale.
‘The Chronicle itself supported the planning committee’s decision to approve the plans for the mosque, in a leading article, pointing out that much of the opposition to it was from people who did not live in the area and was certainly on racist grounds.
‘I would hold the Oldham Chronicle’s record as a supporter of community cohesion and an opponent of the extreme right against any in the land.
Regards,
Jim Williams
Editor
Oh.
Never mind, Bunglawala sallies forth once again, armed with his trusty shovel:
While the OEC may well indeed have published articles positively appraising the project, we would demur that the word ‘giant’ is in no way an adequate indication of the ‘scale’ of the building proposed.
He’s tragically funny sometimes.
The mosque in question is owned by the Ummah Welfare Trust (UWT), a British charity we have covered before. In my view UWT is lucky to be operating at all. One of its partners in Gaza is the Al Salah Society, a Hamas front that has been banned by the US:
The Al-Salah Society supported Hamas-affiliated combatants during the first Intifada and recruited and indoctrinated youth to support Hamas’s activities. It also financed commercial stores, kindergartens, and the purchase of land for Hamas. One of the most senior Gaza-based Hamas leaders and founders, Ismail Abu Shanab, openly identified the Al-Salah Society as “one of the three Islamic charities that form Hamas’ welfare arm.”
…
The Al-Salah Society is directed by Ahmad Al-Kurd, a recognized high-ranking Hamas leader in Gaza. Al-Kurd’s affiliation with Hamas goes back over a decade. During the first Intifada, Al-Kurd served as a Hamas Shura Council member in Gaza. As of late 2003, Al-Kurd was allegedly the top Hamas leader in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza. Since mid-2005, he has served as the mayor of Deir Al-Balah, elected as a Hamas candidate.The Al-Salah Society has employed a number of Hamas military wing members. In late 2002, an official of the Al-Salah Society in Gaza was the principal leader of a Hamas military wing structure in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. The founder and former director of the Al-Salah Society’s Al-Maghazi branch reportedly also operated as a member of the Hamas military wing structure in Al-Maghazi, participated in weapons deals, and served as a liaison to the rest of the Hamas structure in Al-Maghazi. At least four other Hamas military wing members in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza were tied to the Al-Salah Society.
For now the UWT carries merrily on. This evening it will host a charity dinner for Gaza at the East London Mosque’s London Muslim Centre. Speakers will include participants in George Galloway’s pro-Hamas convoy to Gaza. One of them is Yvonne Ridley.
Amusingly, earlier this month the Charity Commission called for charities to improve their reporting of “serious incidents”:
The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, is calling on charities to be more proactive in reporting serious incidents. This comes as the Commission publishes updated guidance to help charities follow best practice and comply with the law in this area. Although the guidance is aimed at charity trustees, it will also be useful to legal and accountancy professionals working with charities, who can sometimes be the first to become aware of a serious incident having taken place.
…
The updated guidance details the serious incidents which trustees should always report to the Commission – for example, fraud, links to or support for terrorism or abuse of vulnerable beneficiaries – and sets out clearly how charities should handle reporting them.
I’m sure the UWT will report itself right after tonight’s dinner.
