“Mohammed Sawalha’s role at the Finsbury Park Mosque, north London, was investigated by the Charity Commission after The Times revealed in 2017 that he had been appointed to Hamas’s political bureau. The mosque said it was aware of his Hamas role until the report. Mr Sawalha had been a trustee since 2010, making him legally responsible for the management.”
It looks as if the Times has a major typo there; it is fairly clear that it meant to say that the mosque said it was not aware that Sawalha was a Hamas leader until the report was published. This strains credulity, but the mosque in making this claim is trying to maintain the moderate reputation has had ever since the days when the one-eyed, hook-handed jihad terror preacher Abu Hamza was the imam there. Sawalha’s longtime presence on the Finsbury Park Mosque board suggests that the mosque is not as moderate as it claims to be, and should be investigated. But of course British officials will not dare undertake such an investigation.
“Hamas leader quits Finsbury Park mosque board after watchdog inquiry,” by David Brown, The Times, January 11, 2019 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
A ruling member of Hamas has stood down as a trustee of one of Britain’s most prominent mosques after an inquiry by the charity regulator.
Mohammed Sawalha’s role at the Finsbury Park Mosque, north London, was investigated by the Charity Commission after The Times revealed in 2017 that he had been appointed to Hamas’s political bureau. The mosque said it was aware of his Hamas role until the report. Mr Sawalha had been a trustee since 2010, making him legally responsible for the management.
The US and EU designate Hamas as a terrorist group. Only the military wing is banned in Britain, meaning that Mr Sawalha has committed no offence.
Separately, the mosque became notorious in the 1990s as the base for the preacher Abu Hamza…