Mohammed Kozbar, the chair of Finsbury Park Mosque, described the report as ‘political’

THE chair of Finsbury Park Mosque says a government-ordered review of counter-terrorism strategies has become an attack on the Muslim community.

Critics said William Shawcross, a former chair of the Charity Commission, looked at only a small number of cases as he analysed the Prevent deradicalisation programme before then calling for a focus on Islamist terror threats.

His report, commissioned by former home secretary Priti Patel, was published last week and the mosque was shocked to be name-checked and linked to Hamas and extremist views.

It is now more than 15 years since it was a base for radical imam Abu Hamza – later jailed for life in the United States – and it has not been associated with extremist views since its closure, reforms and new management.

Mosque chair Mohammed Kozbar said: “This is a political report, not a review – it’s meant to silence the Muslim community and our freedom of expression.

“It is a tool to silence critics of the government. Attacking Finsbury Mosque doesn’t make sense. We are the ones that fight extremism, and the ones who kicked out Abu Hamza and his supporters from the mosque. Now the mosque has become a role model for other mosques to follow when it comes to engaging with the wider community.”

He added: “They want to discredit any Muslim organisations and any Muslim individuals in the eyes of public society. They don’t want to show that there’s positive work being done by the community. We are the ones who are subject to racism and Islamophobia day in and day out.”

According to Mr Kozbar, Finsbury Park Mosque has been at the forefront of community outreach and has done everything to ensure that it has a positive impact in the area.

“The work we do is something which we are proud of, as a mosque and as a community, and we will continue working to serve the Muslim community and beyond despite this unfair and unfounded report,” he said. “We do a lot of youth work to keep our young people away from gangs, drugs and extremism.”

Mr Kozbar added: “They are saying the real dangers are from so-called ‘Islamist extremists’, but the fact is that recently more far-right extremists are referred to Prevent than any other communities.

“The government does not want to engage with mainstream Muslim organisations or grassroots ones, and they choose to engage with so-called Muslim organisations who have no representatives, they are not mainstream, and they have no credibility within Muslim communities.”

Amnesty International dismissed the report as “riddled with biased thinking, errors and plain anti-Muslim prejudice”.

Current home secretary Suella Braverman said in a press release this week in response to Mr Shawcross’s report: “Prevent will now ensure it focuses on the key threat of Islamist terrorism. As part of this more proportionate approach, we will also remain vigilant on emerging threats, including on the extreme right.

“This independent review has identified areas where real reform is required. This includes a need for Prevent to better understand Islamist ideology, which underpins the predominant terrorist threat facing the UK.”