‘Meghan mosque’ is linked to 19 jihadists
Think tank says Duchess was poorly advised over involvement with Grenfell project housed at centre
A COMMUNITY kitchen supported by the Duchess of Sussex is housed inside a mosque that experts have linked to individuals connected to “terrorist acts”.
The west London mosque is run by Imam Samer Darwish, who has said that girls who listen to music may become strippers, in remarks seen on Youtube.
The Duchess visited the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre on Wednesday after championing a cookbook to raise funds for its Hubb Community Kitchen project to help victims of the blaze at nearby Grenfell Tower.
In February it emerged the 37-yearold Duchess had made secret visits to the mosque in Westbourne Grove, which has also received visits from the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in recent months.
An investigation by the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), the anti-extremism think tank, has linked the mosque to 19 jihadists, including Mohammed Emwazi, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) murderer known as Jihadi John.
Imam Darwish presents a weekly show on the Islam Channel where he has condoned bigamy, and suggested women should not pray while menstruating or cry when visiting graves.
The comments are likely to shock the Duchess, who has described herself as a feminist and is committed to championing gender equality.
This week the Duchess visited the kitchen at Al Manaar after it was refurbished with proceeds from the sale of the recipe book inspired by women involved in the Hubb project.
So far 39,000 copies of Together, which includes a lengthy foreword by the Duchess, have been sold, raising £210,000.
Research by the HJS suggests the mosque was once attended by three of the four “Beatles”, the Isil terrorist cell charged with torturing and killing hostages in Syria and Iraq.
As well as Emwazi, Choukri Ellekhlifi, Alexanda Kotey and Aine Davis, all from west London, also have links with Al Manaar.
Emwazi and Ellekhlifi are thought to have fought together after joining Isil in late 2012. Ellekhlifi was killed in 2013 near Aleppo. Kotey would allegedly stand outside Al Manaar and preach extremist propaganda.
In 2008 he became involved with the London Boys, a radical network linked to terrorist attacks in the UK, including the July 7 bombings.
According to the US State Department, Kotey acted as a guard for Isil and is currently being held in solitary confinement in Syria.
Davis, a former drug dealer, was present for the beheadings of hostages, including British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines. He was convicted of terrorism charges in Turkey in 2017 and jailed for seven years.
His wife, Amal el-wahabi, the first woman to be convicted of terrorism offences connected to Syria, once worked as a nursery assistant at Al Manaar.
Youtube videos show Imam Dar- wish speaking on the Islam Channel. In one clip he says of women on their periods: “Bleeding, no praying. Stop bleeding, just pray. I’ve seen some of our sisters holding Koran using glove, which is a good idea.”
He also says listening to music or dancing is haram (sinful) except as a reward for memorising the Koran, adding: “Those who are uncovering up some parts of their body and you will have no control in your daughter.”
On women visiting graves, he says: “There is no harm but she will not cry to the extent to the point that she start screaming and stuff.”
Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the HJS, said the Duchess of Sussex had been “poorly advised” over her involvement with the mosque. “This is not one or two iso- lated cases but 19 separate individuals. A simple Google search would have highlighted concerns over these connections, and the recently expressed views of Imam Darwish.”
A Kensington Palace source said the “Hubb” is an independent project that leases space from Al Manaar, adding: “The project is empowering the women and helping provide some hope and joy to a community that has gone through unspeakable tragedy.” Abdulrahman Sayed, chief executive of Al Manaar, said: “Al Manaar has been on the record rejecting and condemning extremism and terrorism.”
He said the mosque could not be held responsible for anything Imam Darwish said outside its walls but added: “I’m happy to look at what he said and have a word with him about that language.”
‘This is not one or two isolated cases but 19 individuals’