Affiliation Islam Website finsburyparkmosque.org Opened 1994 Architectural style Islamic architecture Architectural type Mosque | Branch/tradition Sunni Date established 1990s Phone +44 20 7424 5252 Number of minarets 1 | |
Location Finsbury Park, London
United Kingdom Address 7-11 St Thomas's Rd, London N4 2QH, UK Similar London Central Mosque, Fazl Mosque - London, East London Mosque, Aziziye Mosque, Brixton Mosque Profiles |
Inside finsbury park mosque 2 2
The Finsbury Park Mosque is a mosque located in Finsbury Park, London, London Borough of Islington, England.
Contents
- Inside finsbury park mosque 2 2
- History and location
- Former terrorism links
- Wood Green ricin plot
- Beslan siege
- Change of leadership
- References
Fisbury Park Mosque is registered in the UK (charity No: 1136945, company No:7229018), serving the local community in Islington and surrounding Boroughs of North London.
The mosque has risen to notoriety since allowing extremist Islamist preachers (many of whom were refugees from the Algerian Civil War) to take it over. In 1996 they installed Abu Hamza al-Masri as imam of the mosque, and later, Abu Qatada which subsequently developed a reputation as a centre of radical Islamism in London.
In 2014, HSBC bank closed North London Central Mosque's bank account. This was due to reported links to terrorism, based on information provided by the Thomson Reuters news agency. However the mosque then filed a legal case against Reuters and won in 2017.
History and location
The main building was opened in 1994 in a ceremony attended by Prince Charles. The mosque is located opposite Finsbury Park station, close to Arsenal Football Club's Emirates Stadium, in the London Borough of Islington.
Former terrorism links
Al Qaeda operatives including "shoebomber" Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui attended the mosque. In 2002, The Guardian reported that weapons training had taken place inside the building.
Wood Green ricin plot
In 2003, over one hundred armed police raided the building as part of the investigation into the alleged Wood Green ricin plot. Abu Hamza al-Masri was eventually jailed for seven years in 2006 after being convicted of inciting murder and race hate. Later, he was deported to the United States to face justice for terrorism charges after a ten-year battle in the British courts based on his "indefinite leave to remain in the UK", which was granted to him by the previous Conservative government. He was eventually sentenced to life in prison.
Beslan siege
Individuals involved in the Beslan school siege were linked to the mosque. Two English/Algerians are among the identified rebels who actively participated in the attack: Osman Larussi and Yacine Benalia. Another UK citizen named Kamel Rabat Bouralha, arrested while trying to leave Russia immediately following the attack, was suspected to be a key organizer. All three were linked to the Finsbury Park Mosque.
Change of leadership
Following the 2003 raid, the mosque was reclaimed by those including representatives of the Muslim Association of Britain, who installed a new board of trustees and imam.