Biggest UK mosque: Newham Council rejects plans

[ishwaq]

A plan to build the UK's biggest mosque in Stratford, east London, has been rejected by councillors.
Thousands of supporters gathered outside Newham Council's town hall ahead of the decision.
The huge mosque would have been four times the capacity of St Paul's Cathedral with room for almost 10,000 worshippers.
The Islamic missionary group Tablighi Jamaat has been trying for 10 years to build a mosque in Newham.
'Islamic enclave'Supporters outside the town hall, some of whom had come from Birmingham and Bradford, held signs reading: "15 years of waiting. Not a day more. Vote yes to the Riverine Centre".
BBC London reporter Alex Bushill estimated that 3,000 people had gathered.
The crowd dispersed after the meeting.

The mosque would have had a prayer hall for up to 7,440 men and a facility for about 2,000 women
The Abbey Mills Mosque - also known as the Riverine Centre - would have become the biggest Islamic centre in the UK and one of the largest in western Europe.
Council officers recommended councillors refuse permission for expansion on the former industrial land, amid strong opposition and concern about the project.
All eight councillors on the committee voted against the plan at about 20:30 GMT.
They rejected it on the grounds that it departed from Newham's local strategy and the Mayor of London's Olympics legacy plan.
Campaigner Alan Craig of the Christian Peoples Alliance had criticised the proposal, saying it would create a "ghetto" or "Islamic enclave".
He said: "Their teaching is that Muslims should keep themselves separate from everybody.
"It doesn't help any integration or community feeling around here."
Some local Muslims had also expressed concerns that it would give one Islamic group too much dominance over the community.
'Stands for democracy'The mosque would have included a prayer hall for up to 7,440 men and a separate facility for almost 2,000 women.
Tablighi Jamaat currently uses part of the 17-acre Abbey Mills site to house a temporary hub which can host up to 2,500 people.






Since Tablighi Jamaat moved into the Abbey Mills site in 1996, it has been involved in a series of application and enforcement disputes with Newham Council.
Tablighi Jamaat currently uses part of the site to house the London Markaz, also referred to as Masjid-e-Ilyas, a temporary hub which can host up to 2,500 people.
The Islamic sect, which started in India in the late 1920s, has been accused in the past of radicalising young Muslims.
The group has said it "refrains from political or controversial activities and stands for democracy and freedom" and that it "promotes social and religious integration".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-20605213

 

[rtabasum2]

bloody hypocrates , they allowed that church on waterden road for africans which can host more than 7000 and its write underneath olympic stadium, they are just scared of muslims going to mosques five times a day whereas they don't go to church even on Sundays

 

[ajeeba]

very sad news indeed

 

[littlemaster]

whats harm?

 

[warraich001]

bloody hypocrates , they allowed that church on waterden road for africans which can host more than 7000 and its write underneath olympic stadium, they are just scared of muslims going to mosques five times a day whereas they don't go to church even on Sundays

scared???? LOL!..... just look at us, we go to there and then curse them on not letting us making a mosque and in pakistan burn churches and other worship places but when the time comes to condemn it and stand against it, we start hiding like a coward and try to find any justification for it......

 

[warraich001]

whats harm?

brother everything is haram that does not fit in our ideology....

 

[littlemaster]

brother everything is haram that does not fit in our ideology....

brother i mean to say what harm(not haram) they can have if they let us bild masjid...........

 

[warraich001]

brother i mean to say what harm(not haram) they can have if they let us bild masjid...........

oh OK, sory I didn't read it properly, no answer for this question.....

 

[rtabasum2]

scared???? LOL!..... just look at us, we go to there and then curse them on not letting us making a mosque and in pakistan burn churches and other worship places but when the time comes to condemn it and stand against it, we start hiding like a coward and try to find any justification for it......

you think they are not scared that even the third generation muslims go to mosques and have not integrated with their culture, have u seen police cars stationed outside mosque after jumma prayers, you can also get 30,000 per anum job just if U r bilingual in Pushto and Urdu so they can eavesdrop on wt muslims are saying on phones, but i think you are stuck with Pakistanis lameness in front of our great colonial master's greatness who always knows what is best for us imbeciles

 

[Imranpak]

Now lets just accept this decision peacefully without declaring fatwa's or wanting anyone's blood! Muslim's here are still treated much better then non-Muslim's are in Pakistan.

 

[littlemaster]

you think they are not scared that even the third generation muslims go to mosques and have not integrated with their culture, have u seen police cars stationed outside mosque after jumma prayers, you can also get 30,000 per anum job just if U r bilingual in Pushto and Urdu so they can eavesdrop on wt muslims are saying on phones, but i think you are stuck with Pakistanis lameness in front of our great colonial master's greatness who always knows what is best for us imbeciles

yes i witness police standing out side masjid in uk ............but never thought why they standing????????

 

[Babatank]

very sad news indeed

If you wake up at a different time in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? No, you don't.
Even the dead bodies are not save in LAND OF THE PURE
http://tribune.com.pk/story/474914/...aves-vandalised-in-posh-lahore-neighbourhood/

 

[rtabasum2]

Now lets just accept this decision peacefully without declaring fatwa's or wanting anyone's blood! Muslim's here are still treated much better then non-Muslim's are in Pakistan.

Muslims in UK are treated even more better than the muslims are treated in Pakistan but we are not comparing Pakistan & UK, it is hypocracy of being champion of free speech, expression blah blah that they sell to us and when it comes to a mosque it is labelled as ghetto or islamic enclave, shame on them

 

[KhanHaripur]

it was a good turn out i was there just to support the House of Allah SWT though im not a Tableeghi.the worst part is our soo called liberal muslims ( mpacuk ) opposed it.

 

[Unicorn]

Now lets just accept this decision peacefully without declaring fatwa's or wanting anyone's blood! Muslim's here are still treated much better then non-Muslim's are in Pakistan.

Smart man(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)(clap)

 

[rmunir]

Divide and rule mate an old tactic. They will allow you to make small mosques as many as you want in a single street. But they will not allow you to make a big mosque for the whole muslim community of a town. If muslim community have just one mosque in whole town then every one will be their on friday and All will listen to one imam. And if any problem arises they will turn into a big pressure group which will not be good for the council. And if there are two mosques in a single street then both mosques will fight each other lesser problems for the council.

 

[haidhu80]

you think they are not scared that even the third generation muslims go to mosques and have not integrated with their culture, have u seen police cars stationed outside mosque after jumma prayers, you can also get 30,000 per anum job just if U r bilingual in Pushto and Urdu so they can eavesdrop on wt muslims are saying on phones, but i think you are stuck with Pakistanis lameness in front of our great colonial master's greatness who always knows what is best for us imbeciles

That is so true. Also if we want to compare the non-muslims been treated in pakistan and muslims been treated in the UK is totally different thing. UK is supposed to be a secular country where everyone is allowed to say, wear, worship and do whatever they want. That is the reason that Altaf is here and Rushdie is here. They can't even follow their own rules. On the other hand have you ever heard that they have this much seats for non christians in the schools, medical and engineering colleges, universities and jobs. Pakistan is not a secular state, its an islamic state and we are not so called DEVELOPED country. Big difference between Pakistan and UK. If they follow their own principles then muslims should have been given permission to build the mosque... simple...

 

[aftab818]

I live here in UK and dont go into harsh discussion, UK is a paradise for all religions, we are free to practice our prayers and we got many many mosques here ,if a council not allowing a mosque then mind it there are more english people all around and if they are not easy with it then we should convince them rather than taking it bad feeling issue, i am sure Insha Allah we will build it !

 

[rtabasum2]

Divide and rule mate an old tactic. They will allow you to make small mosques as many as you want in a single street. But they will not allow you to make a big mosque for the whole muslim community of a town. If muslim community have just one mosque in whole town then every one will be their on friday and All will listen to one imam. And if any problem arises they will turn into a big pressure group which will not be good for the council. And if there are two mosques in a single street then both mosques will fight each other lesser problems for the council.

We have missionary schools in all the major cities of Pakistan under ST.Mary's and Convent names, I used to sing praise the lord in our assembly but it did not do anything to my faith, these people struggled for that mosque for more than 15yrs and all they came up was that you are putting a spot on olympic legacy, anyway these caucasian race is too clever too be duped into anything

 

[Imranpak]

Muslims in UK are treated even more better than the muslims are treated in Pakistan but we are not comparing Pakistan & UK, it is hypocracy of being champion of free speech, expression blah blah that they sell to us and when it comes to a mosque it is labelled as ghetto or islamic enclave, shame on them

There are enough Masjid's in London! Muslim's must also accept that we can't always have things our own way then play the victim card based on just suspicion. Planning permission for many things is regularly rejected without anyone shouting from the roofs! It's only us Muslim's who make a fuss over everything!