The Left, the British political Establishment and those promoting the lie that Islam is a religion of peace sometimes like to point out that bad and extreme mosques can be turned around and use the Finsbury Park mosque as an example of that change. But, as we are seeing with Finsbury Park Mosque, that change is not as deep and as meaningful as it could have been.

The mosque that was once a centre for terrorist plots and was overseen by some serious Islamic nasties, allegedly reconstituted itself with help from ‘the community’ and has taken great care to give the impression that this is a model mosque where only tolerance and love is preached inside its walls. But, according to a recent story in the Daily Mail, this impression given by the mosque may not only be dishonest, but the much vaunted conversion to moderate Islam by the mosque may be nothing more than a veneer of taqiyya or lying for Islam.

It turns out, according to the information written by the journalist Richard Spillett for the Mail, that one of the mosque’s trustees is a supporter of the political wing of the genocidal Islamic group Hamas. That the mosque could tolerate a Hamas supporter as a trustee does call into question just how ‘moderate’ the Finsbury Park mosque really is. It’s maddening and counterproductive to only ban the military wing of Hamas from operating in the UK whilst supporters of the political wing of Hamas are allowed to walk freely among us and even control one of Britain’s most high profile mosques. Hamas is all bad and there should be no exceptions for its political wing made by the British government. As is normal policy for this blog the excerpts from the Daily Mail article are in italics whereas my comments are in plain text.

The Daily Mail said:

A trustee at one of London‘s best-known mosques is a senior member of ‘terrorist organisation’ Hamas’s political wing, it was reported this morning.

Mohammed Sawalha holds the role of trustee at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, which was formerly linked to extremism but which insists it has since undergone an ‘complete overhaul’.

It emerged today that Mr Sawalha represented the militant Palestinian organisation Hamas at recent talks in Moscow.

The fact that Mr Swalha is representing Hamas at a meeting in Russia shows that this guy is not merely a fellow traveller of the genocidal Hamas group but a major mover and shaker within that organisation. Many may agree with me that the presence of a man who openly supports an organisation that calls for the mass murder of Israeli Jews does not in any way suggest ‘moderation’ in religious matters.

The Daily Mail article continued:

Sawalha, who lives in London, was appointed a trustee of the mosque in 2010 and is legally responsible for overseeing the mosque’s management, The Times reported today.

He was one of five senior figures from the Islamist organisation who were sent to Moscow in September, where they met Russia’s deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov and other Kremlin officials.

You don’t get to represent Hamas at meetings with Russian government ministers, as Swalha has done, without occupying a position of influence with Hamas. It should be noted that Swalha was appointed to the Finsbury Park Mosque board in 2010 which is in the period that the mosque was said by some of its apologists to be a beacon of moderation. The presence of Swalha with all his dubious allegiances doesn’t exactly paint a picture of moderation does it?

Having a senior member of Hamas helping to run a mosque makes a mockery of any claims that the mosque makes or will make about being moderate. If the Finsbury Park mosque was serious about not only being moderate and respectful of Britain and its way of life then it would not be including the likes of Swalha on its management board. The more I read this story the more the claims that the Finsbury Park mosque has changed since the dark days when Abu Hamza held court there look empty, hollow and dishonest.

I can’t help but wonder just how many other mosques in Britain are falsely claiming to be ‘moderate’ or ‘peaceful’ but who have as part of their governing bodies those individuals such as Mr Sawlha who support causes that are anything but peaceful and moderate.