I didn’t know the Finsbury Park Mosque was good at humour. Oh my, it is, and how.
The Times has reported that one of the mosque’s trustees, Mohammed Sawalha, is a ruling member of Hamas. ITIC has much more.
Oh, say it ain’t so. Voila! From The Independent:
Asked how Mr Sawalha’s position in Hamas squared with Finsbury Park Mosque’s values, a spokesperson said: “We were not aware about this news till recently made public in [The Times].
“We are looking at the situation and the mosque will be issuing a statement in the next couple of days.
“We would like to confirm that the mosque has no relationship with Hamas.”
Perhaps the mosque could “look at the situation” by going back over a decade to a BBC Panorama report which called Mr Sawalha a “fugitive Hamas commander”. Yes, he has been it at for that long. All the way back to the 1990s, in fact, when he settled in this country.
The mosque may also wish to consult its leader Mohammed Kozbar. Here he is with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
And here Kozbar grins with the notorious Hamas hardliner Mahmoud al-Zahar (centre). The man next to Kozbar is Islam Channel owner Mohamed Ali Harrath. Just to add some “awareness”, you know.
Oh look, here is Mr Kozbar with Messrs Sawalha and Haniyeh! That should be helpful, shouldn’t it.
The picture above was taken during an Interpal “Miles of Smiles” convoy to Gaza. Interpal is a registered British charity dedicated to serving Hamas.
Let’s add a few more photos which might assist the mosque.
Meeting the next jihad generation with Haniyeh, for example.
Here is Sawalha with Ahmed Bahar of Hamas (centre). The man on the left is his fellow Hamas UK operative Zaher Birawi. Second from left is Kevin Ovenden, at the time a sad minion of George Galloway in the Viva Palestina Hamas support operation. This photo was taken in Gaza during one of the Viva Palestina convoys.
Here’s another Viva Palestina scene from Syria, in much better days for the brutal dictatorship. The man at the microphone is Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook. Sawalha is at the left end of the table.
Here Mr Sawalha joins Zaher Birawi, Bulent Yildirim, who is the head of the Turkish Islamist charity IHH, and hate preacher Raed Salah on the deck of the Mavi Marmara in Istanbul. The Gaza flotilla was about to set sail. Sawalha was a key player in that Hamas International operation.
I trust I have been of some assistance to the mosque. If I can provide any further help, I would be delighted to do so.
