From Private Eye No.1407, 11/12-18/12/15 As a previous post noted: ‘Perhaps curiously, given LBWF’s decidedly chequered record in identifying and addressing Islamist extremism, Martin Esom, the council CEO, chaired the pan London Prevent Board…from 2012 to late 2018’. »
As has been reported by various media outlets (most prominently the Times), the Charity Commission is currently investigating two Waltham Forest Islamic charities, the Miftahul Jannah Academy and the Masjid-E-Umer Trust (which runs Walthamstow Central Mosque), following a complaint about controversial statements in lectures that allegedly have been delivered as part of their youth programmes. The figure at the centre of this row is ‘Islamic scholar’ Muhammad Patel, who has taught at both charities, and from 2008 onwards posted live recordings of his weekly lectures on the Miftahul Ja... »
Perhaps curiously, given LBWF’s decidedly chequered record in identifying and addressing Islamist extremism, Martin Esom, the council CEO, chaired the pan London Prevent Board (LPB) from 2012 to late 2018. Earlier this year, the Local Government Chronicle interviewed Mr. Esom about his time at the LPB, and his views are worth exploring, not least because they may well feed into the government’s reassement of Prevent, which is currently ongoing. It must be said that Mr. Esom’s logic in the interview is sometimes difficult to follow, clouded (amongst other things) by a whiff of score settling. B... »
As this blog has reported previously, some councillors in Waltham Forest seem to find avoiding sectarianism, whether national or religious, rather difficult. Now news emerges of what appears to be a further example of this unpleasant phenomenon. Annually, LBWF celebrates a variety of nation days, normally with a reception and flag raising ceremony. The 14 August is Pakistan day, and this year, it was marked in the normal way. However, during the reception (which was chaired by Cllr. Liaquat Ali and attended by the Mayor), events took a somewhat unusual turn. For, at the instigation of the expe... »
‘Waltham Forest is a Prevent Tier 1 priority area and as such receives additional funding from the Home Office to deliver Prevent projects. Tier 1 status is apportioned as Waltham Forest is considered to be of significantly higher risk [of terrorism] than the majority of local authority areas. Accordingly, expectations of delivery are high’ (Home Office, Prevent Pier Review Report Waltham Forest (March 2018)) For some years past, Waltham Forest has been home to a number of active Islamist extremists, and as a consequence LBWF continues to receive a considerable amount of extra cash to augment ... »
In the past week or so, much of the press has covered the trial and conviction of Forest Gate Isis supporter Umar Ahmed Haque on a number of serious terrorist offences. During Mr. Haque’s trial, the court heard extensive evidence about his activities at two schools and a madrassa in East London, where (amongst other things) under the guise of teaching ‘Islamic Studies’ he ‘re-enacted attacks on police officers and showed…videos of beheadings’. It is estimated that 110 of his pupils were ‘radicalised’, a third so seriously that they are now receiving long-term safeguarding support, of course at... »
The BBC is currently reporting as follows: ‘Three terror suspects arrested in east London armed raids Three men have been arrested on suspicion of terror offences following a series of raids involving armed police, in east London. Two men, aged 34 and 37, were detained in Newham, while a third man aged 33 was arrested at an address in Waltham Forest. All three have been taken to a south London police station. The arrests are not connected to the attacks on London Bridge and in Borough Market, Scotland Yard said. In a separate investigation, counter-terror police made a series of arrests ... »
This week, the Henry Jackson Society’s Hannah Stuart published a report entitled Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998–2015) which contains profiles of all Islamism-inspired terrorism convictions and suicide attacks, ordered chronologically by date of arrest or incident. One finding is of considerable local interest: ‘Across…[1998 to 2015], East London was home to half (50%) of London-based offenders, while the three most common boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest – contained the offenders’ residence in 38% of all Londoner IROs [Islamism-related o... »
Two recent media stories again underline the extent and pernicious nature of the religious extremism which currently permeates Waltham Forest. In early October, the estimable Evening Standard journalist David Churchill reported that a booklet ‘which says “any Muslim should kill” those who insult the Prophet Mohammed’ had allegedly been distributed at the Dar-ul-Uloom Qadria Jilania mosque in Walthamstow, prompting a police investigation. A few days ago, the blog Harry’s Place revealed another facet of the extremism – virulent sectarianism directed towards Ahmadis. It had discovered that at the... »
In recent weeks, various commentators on social media have questioned why a Pakistani preacher called Muhammad Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman has been allowed into Britain to tour mosques.* For Muhammad Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman is a fervent supporter of Mumtaz Qadri, and the latter is a very controversial figure indeed. The story starts in 2011. Qadri was a policeman guarding the liberal governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, when one day he shot him dead. Quadri’s motive was straightforward: he abhorred the fact that Taseer had advocated the reform of Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws. Subsequently, Quadr... »