Mosques accused of fear culture
Leader s of two mosques have been accused of fostering a culture of fear to stop worshippers speaking out against extremists.
The claims are made by a Glaswegian Muslim in a radio documentary to be aired this week.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the man, a member of Glasgow Central Mosque, said: “People are scared to come forward.
“They are scared of being ostracised by the community. They wouldn’t be welcome in any mosque again.
“If I came out in public and said this – from what I’ve seen from some individuals, emotions run high – s omeone wou ld do something silly and I don’t want to be a target of that.
“But I love my city, I love my country and I feel a sense of responsibility to speak out.
“We are sick to the teeth of being ruled by a Pakistani mindset. ”
The other mosque named is Edinburgh’s Polwarth Mosque.
Sabir Ali, head of religious events at Glasgow Central, and Polwarth founder Hafiz Abdul Hamid are facing a police probe over alleged l inks to banned group Sipah-e-Sahaba.
In the documentary, former BBC Pak istan cor respondent Owen Bennett Jones looks at the UK role of the little-known but highly inf luent ial conservative Deobandi Muslims. The Deobandis airs on Radio 4 on Tuesday at 9am.