Gay campaigners say London mosque is breaking homophobia promise

Gay campaigners are up in arms over a London mosque’s decision to host what they call homophobic speakers at a conference to be held there tomorrow.

Pink News reports that the conference comes only a few weeks after East London Mosque said it would stop hosting homophobic speakers. However, mosque officials say Muslims are being singled out, because some Christian groups hold anti-gay views, too. “The conference is billed as an ‘emergency public meeting’ for parents concerned about sex education materials used in Tower Hamlets schools,” says Pink News. (Tower Hamlets is an area of London.) The conference is being hosted by Sex and Relationship Education Islamic (SRE Islamic) and the Safe at School Campaign, which is an offshoot of the anti-abortion organization Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). SRE Islamic is said to be run by a member of Hizb ut Tahrir, an extremist group that campaigns against gay equality. But mosque officials say that the SRE Islamic director, Yusuf Patel, is no longer a member of Hizb ut Tahrir. Broken promises Writing in the Daily Telegraph, journalist Andrew Gilligan says East London Mosque has “repeatedly lied and broken such promises [on not hosting homophobic speakers] before: waiting a couple of months until the coast is clear, then bringing the extremists back.” Under the headline “East London Mosque promises to turn over a new leaf. Again”, Gilligan wrote earlier in the month that the mosque’s PR, Salman Farsi, had said: “Any speaker who is believed to have said something homophobic will not be allowed to use our premises, whether that is us organising an event or someone else.” But, said Gilligan in that earlier article, “Unfortunately, it is at least the third time the East London Mosque has made this promise.” In his later article – published yesterday – he says: “SRE Islamic is run by members of Hizb ut Tahrir, a racist and extremist group which believes that Muslims should not mix with non-Muslims. Hizb ut Tahrir says that Muslims who believe in democracy are ‘kafir,’ or unbelievers. Hizb ut Tahrir works for a worldwide Islamic superstate, or caliphate (as does the Islamic Forum of Europe, which runs the mosque).” He goes on: “Wednesday’s meeting is not just with someone who has ‘said something homophobic,’ but is organised by a campaign explicitly dedicated to promoting the ‘unacceptability of homosexuality.’ The meeting was first advertised on 17 June, precisely eight days after Mr Farsi’s ringing pledge. “Could there be a clearer indication of just how much an East London Mosque promise is worth?” And the gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell says: “It is outrageous that after pledging to crack down on homophobia, the director of the East London Mosque, Dilowar Khan, will host and share a platform with Yusuf Patel of Hizb ut-Tahrir. “The meeting is about sex and relationship education. Hizb ut-Tahrir campaigns against the acceptability of homosexuality.” ‘Singled out’ However, Farsi insisted in the Pink News report that Patel was no longer a member of Hizb ut Tahrir and said Muslims were being “singled out” because Christian groups also oppose homosexuality. “Yusuf Patel is no longer part of Hizb ut Tahrir and this has been reported on various internet sites. Mr Patel himself has confirmed this,” he’s quoted as saying. “Furthermore, whilst SRE Islamic may have certain views which are not necessarily shared by the mosque management, it is but one of many groups which use our facilities and is part of a joint event organised by a Christian organisation.” Of Gilligan’s Telegraph article, he says it is “an attempt to link homophobic attacks and incidents by young thugs to a theological viewpoint on homosexuality which is shared by many Muslims. “It should be clear that many other faith groups also hold similar views, but are not singled out in the same manner or with the same vituperative response.”