15 December 2010

Not Empowering Islamists

.... The circumstances surrounding the London Muslim Center's airing of a pre-recorded lecture by Anwar al-Awlaki involved a third-party organizer (Noor Pro Media), and have now been clearly addressed.

The East London Mosque Trust last month released a statement clarifying our position on the matter. Any prior lapses in our events-booking procedures have also been addressed and our standards are now strictly enforced.

I would like to restate for the record that our mosque is not dominated by Jamaat-e-Islami, nor does it aspire to establishing an "Islamist theocracy." Extremism in any form must be challenged. Our mosque is working constantly with its partners to meet these ends.

Mr. Maher should be keen to scrutinize his own hypocrisy at labeling others extremists, as he further provides legitimate backing for bigotry and Islamophobia. [The Wall Street Journal] Read more [via Islamophobia Watch]