UK TV show 'uncovers extreme Saudi preachers'

FILM SET: The London Central Mosque where documentary makers went undercover.

British documentary makers say they have discovered female Saudi preachers at an influential British mosque are urging followers to kill homosexuals and view all non-Muslims as “vile”.

The London Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre, known as the Regent’s Park Mosque, is one of the most respected centres for moderate Islam in western Europe, according to The Times newspaper.

However, an undercover investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches programme has found extremist preachers have held study circles there and are teaching followers a hardline version of the faith followed in Saudi Arabia, known as Wahhabism.

The documentary, which will be broadcast in the UK on Monday, is a follow-up to Undercover Mosque, which investigated a number of mosques and was made by the same team more than a year ago. That resulted in an investigation by West Midlands Police, who accused the makers of distorting sermons and inflaming tensions.

Officers took no action against extremist preachers whose words were broadcast. Ofcom rejected the complaint and the force had to apologise to Channel 4. It agreed at the High Court to pay $181,000 for libel.

In the programme, Ahmed Al-Dubayan, the mosque’s director, said the women were not authorised by the mosque.

The Muslim Council of Britain, of which the mosque is an affiliate, said: “Some of the statements are deeply offensive . . . [but] it would be very wrong, and quite unfair, to smear the whole centre.”

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READERS' COMMENTS

Reply to Xaff
Posted by PJ, Kuwait on Saturday 20 September 2008 at 18:27 UAE time


I've visited several Hindu temples & institutions and have never seen or heard hatred preached against anyone. One swallow doesn't make a summer.

Try watching the American Media
Posted by Suhail Shafi, New York, USA on Wednesday 10 September 2008 at 21:25 UAE time


Maybe those who watch the programs on the British media should try watching the Christian Broadcasting Network of fundamentalist preacher Pat Robertson which routine preaches hatred against secularists, liberals, gays and of course Muslims. Or how about the Glenn Beck Show on CNN where the host has in the past has mulled turning undocumented migrants into biofuel.

The fact is, the US corporate media is itself a mouthpiece for hate speech, incitement and factual misinformation, all covered by the sacrosant First Amendment that permits almost unlimited freedom of expression. That mosques are accused of being breeding grounds for ``extremism'' while the mainstream media is given a pass for its many transgressions in the name of freedom of expression is a sad sign of the double standards that define our times.

Community?
Posted by Paul, Dubai on Monday 8 September 2008 at 17:20 UAE time


Maybe if members of that same community did a bit more to distance themselves from that individual (instead of blaming a Jewish media conspiracy), it would be a bit easier to distinguish between individual and community. Just a thought.

Re:
Posted by Xaff, Dubai, UAE on Monday 8 September 2008 at 14:35 UAE time

Why target Muslims! Which religious institution is not preaching intolerance and hatred. Channel 4 should visit Hindu temples and institutions to see for themselves. Hindu fundamentalists are preaching hatred against Muslims and Christians. My conlusion is please do not target the whole community for views expressed by an individual.

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