Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 19:33, 10 December 2024

The Brixton Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre
Religion
Affiliation	Sunni Islam
Location
Location	1 Gresham Road, Brixton, South London, England, United Kingdom
Geographic coordinates	51°27′55″N 0°06′46″W / 51.4652°N 0.1127°W / 51.4652; -0.1127
Architecture
Completed	1990
Website
brixtonmasjid.co.uk

The Brixton Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre (the "Brixton Mosque", or "Masjid ibn Taymeeyah") is a mosque located in Gresham Road in the Brixton area of South London. It is managed by Black British converts and is known for its history of controversy.

Controversies

Abdullah al-Faisal

Abdullah el-Faisal, a radical Takfiri Muslim cleric who preached in the UK until he was imprisoned for stirring up racial hatred and in 2007 deported to Jamaica, was associated with the Brixton Mosque in the early 1990s, preaching to crowds of up to 500 people. In 1993, he was ejected by the mosque's administration who objected to his radical preaching. In 2007, the London Evening Standard published an apology for referring to el-Faisal as the "Brixton Mosque preacher" on 12 April 2007, and clarified that el-Faisal only preached at Brixton Mosque in the early 1990s and not after 1994.

Richard Reid (the shoe bomber)

The mosque made international headlines when it was reported that Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber", had attended the mosque from 1996 to 1998 after converting to Islam in jail. Abdul Haqq Baker, former chairman of mosque, told the BBC that Reid came to the mosque to learn about Islam, but fell in with what he called "more extreme elements" in London's Muslim community. "We have been in contact with the police numerous times over the last five years to warn of the threat posed by militant groups operating in our area," said Baker in December 2001 after Reid's arrest. He had warned that terrorist "talent scouts" prey on mosques like the Brixton mosque in search of the young and unstable. Baker warned the congregation, "The recruiting has got out of control. Beware. It's your sons, your teenagers who are plucked into these extreme groups." A Time magazine article in 2002 said: "The Brixton Mosque is an ideal hunting ground for terrorist talent spotters since it attracts mainly young worshipers, including ex-convicts it helps rehabilitate."

Zacarias Moussaoui

Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, frequented the mosque between 1996 and 1997. Some sources report that it was during this period that he met Richard Reid, though others are less certain. Moussaoui was expelled from the mosque after he began wearing combat fatigues and a backpack to the mosque, and pressured the cleric to provide him with information on how to join the jihad.

See also

• Islam in London
• Islam in the United Kingdom
• Islamic terrorism
• Islamic schools and branches
• Islamism
• Islamism in London
• List of mosques
• List of mosques in the United Kingdom

References

1. Kelso, Paul, "Terror recruits warning; Young Muslims 'fall prey to extremists'," Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine The Guardian, 27 December 2001, accessed 11 January 2010
2. Johnston, Philip (27 May 2007). "7 July preacher Abdullah El-Faisal deported". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
3. ^ "Resolved Complaints: Brixton Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre and London Evening Standard". Press Complaints Commission. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
4. M. R. Haberfeld; Agostino von Hassell, eds. (2009). A New Understanding of Terrorism: Case Studies, Trajectories and Lessons Learned. Springer. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-4419-0114-9.
5. Odula,Tom (10 January 2010). "Radical Jamaican-born Muslim cleric returns to Kenya after his deportation fails". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on 16 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
6. ^ James Bamford (2005). A pretext for war: 9/11, Iraq, and the abuse of America's intelligence agencies. Random House, Inc. p. 237. ISBN 9781400030347. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
7. Maria do Céu Pinto (2004). Islamist and Middle Eastern terrorism: a threat to Europe?. Rubbettino Editore srl. p. 47. ISBN 978-88-498-0887-2. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
8. "UK | Shoe bomb suspect 'one of many'". BBC News. 26 December 2001. Archived from the original on 2 December 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
9. ""London Mosque Leader: We Warned About Radicals," [[Fox News]], 27 December 2001, accessed 11 January 2010". Fox News. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
10. Philip Jenkins (2007). God's continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's religious crisis. Oxford University Press US. p. 224. ISBN 9780195313956.
11. "Helen Gibson, "Looking for Trouble," Time, 14 January 2002, accessed 11 January 2010". Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
12. ^ Jane Corbin (2003). Al-Qaeda: in search of the terror network that threatens the world. Nation Books. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-56025-523-9.
13. ^ Atkins, Stephen E. (2004). Encyclopedia of modern worldwide extremists and extremist groups, p. 271, Stephen E. Atkins, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004, ISBN 0-313-32485-9, ISBN 978-0-313-32485-7, accessed 11 January 2010. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313324857. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
14. "Who is Richard Reid?". BBC News. 28 December 2001. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
15. Hoge, Warren (27 December 2001). "A Nation challenged-the convert; Shoe-Bomb Suspect Fell in With Extremists". New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
16. "The Religious Trajectories of the Moussaoui Family", Katherine Donahue, ISIM Review 21 (Spring 2008), p. 18, accessed 11 January 2001

External links

• Official website
• Recent Short Documentary of Brixton Mosque
• "London mosque leader recalls bomb suspect: Interview with Abdul Haqq Baker", CNN, 26 December 2001 Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• "The Devil's Deception of Abdullaah Faisal ('Sheikh Faisal'); Critical Study of Abdullah el-Faisal's Methodology"; SalafiManhaj (2007)
• "A view from the inside: Abdul Haqq Baker provides an account of the Brixton Mosque and the shifting perceptions towards it, since it was founded," Abdul Haqq Baker, Criminal Justice Matters, Volume 73, Issue 1 (September 2008), pp. 24–25
• Islam in London: Documentary about Brixton Mosque

v t e   Mosques in the United Kingdom
England London East Brick Lane (East End) Shacklewell Lane (Dalston) Central (Forest Gate) Suleymaniye (Haggerston) Waltham Forest Islamic Association (Leyton) Baitul Ahad (Plaistow) Abbey Mills (Stratford) Masjid Abdul Aziz bin Baz (Stratford) Markazi Masjid (Tower Hamlets) Wapping Noorani Masjid & Cultural Centre East London (Whitechapel) North Muslim Welfare House Madina (Clapton) Rumi (Edmonton) London Islamic Cultural Society & Mosque (Hornsey) Leytonstone Palmers Green London Central (Regents Park) Aziziye (Stoke Newington) Wembley Central South Brixton Tahir (Catford) Darul Amaan (Colliers Wood) Baitus Subhan (Croydon) Croydon Baitul Ehsan (Mitcham) Baitul Futuh (Morden) Fazl (Southfields) Wimbledon West Baitul Wahid (Feltham) Harrow Central Baitul Aman (Hayes) Islamic Centre of England (Maida Vale) Darus Salaam Mosque (Southall) White City North East Hartlepool Nasir Stockton-on-Tees Farooq E Azam Mosque and Islamic Centre Sunderland Anware Madinah Masjid North West Blackburn Jaame Masjid Blackpool Central Noor-A-Madina Brierfield Jamia Mosque Sultania Liverpool Al-Rahma Bait-ul-Lateef Manchester Darul Amaan Didsbury Central North Manchester Jamia Jamé Masjid Oldham Madina Masjid & Islamic Centre Westwood Preston Jamea Masjid Madina South East Banbury Banbury Brighton Al Medinah Al-Quds Chesham Chesham Crawley Noor Gillingham Nasir Haywards Heath Mid Sussex Horsham Madina Tilford Mubarak Woking Shah Jahan South West Bristol Bristol Jamia Easton Jamia Exeter Kingston Plymouth East of England Cambridge Central East Midlands Leicestershire Baitul Ikram Umar Nottinghamshire Baitul Hafeez West Midlands Birmingham As-Salafi Central Darul Barakaat Ghamkol Shariff Masjid Green Lane Masjid Masjid As-Salafi Dudley Central Halesowen Baitul Ghafoor Leamington Spa Baitul Ehsan Redditch Central Telford Central Walsall Baitul Muqeet Wolverhampton Baitul Ata Yorkshire and the Humber Bradford Al-Mahdi Baitul Hamd Grand Dewsbury Markazi Masjid Huddersfield Baitus Samad Baitul Tauhid Leeds Grand Makkah Masjid Stratford Street Scunthorpe Baitus Salaam Sheffield Baitul Afiyat Madina York York Mosque and Islamic Centre Former Islamic Academy of Manchester
Northern Ireland Belfast Islamic Centre
Scotland Aberdeen Aberdeen Mosque and Islamic Centre Syed Shah Mustafa Jamee Dundee Al Maktoum Central Jame Masjid Bilal Masjid Tajdare Madina Edinburgh Central Glasgow Al-Furqan Bait Ur Rahman Central Hillview Islamic & Education Centre Masjid Noor Zia-ul-Quran Elsewhere Ayrshire Central Falkirk Central Scotland (Stirling) Dumfries Inverness Perth
Wales Al-Manar Centre Masjid-e-Zawiyah Sadiq (Rhyl) Shah Jalal Swansea
Category Islam in the United Kingdom List Mosques by country

• Mosques in London
• Religion in the London Borough of Lambeth
• Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth
• Islamic organizations established in 1990
• Brixton
• Mosque-related controversies in Europe
• Salafi mosques in the United Kingdom