An Islamic centre has hit out at a report which has linked it to supporting extremism .
The Al Muntada Trust was responding to a document from the Henry Jackson Society, claiming it is the victim of “hostile Islamophobic abuse ”.
The Foreign Funded Islamist Extremism in the UK report says the trust, based in Parsons Green , is linked to mosques where radicalisation has taken place.
But Dr Saeed Al Ghadie, general supervisor at the Al Muntada Trust , said the “false allegations” are “a detriment to our charitable work”.
He said: “They prevent us from concentrating all our efforts on helping the poor and needy and divert our resources and time to defending ourselves against these hostile unfair, unsubstantiated attacks”.
In its report, the British think-tank society writes: “While it is rarely the case that a definitive or causative connection can be established between foreign funding and individuals being recruited into terrorism, in the case of the Qatari funded al-Muntada Trust, there appear to be significant links.
“The trust is not only financed by Qatar but in 2013 the UK branch held its annual conference in Doha.
“The trust has been connected with a number of mosques where radicalisation has taken place.
“Specifically, in the case of a group of young British men from Cardiff, it has been suggested that attendance at the al-Muntada linked al-Manar Mosque was significant in their radicalisation and decision to travel to Syria and join the Islamic State.”
The Al-Manar mosque is based in Acklam Road, Notting Hill, close to Grenfell Tower , and played a key role on the relief mission following the fire, offering temporary accommodation to those affected, and collecting emergency supplies.
Describing the report as "unfair, unfounded, inaccurate and biased", Dr Al Ghadie said: “We strongly and unequivocally condemn all forms of extremism, radicalism, intolerance and violence including Islamophobia in all its forms.
“Organisations such as ours provide an invaluable and indispensable service to the community in London and across the UK, especially for the most vulnerable such as the homeless, the destitute, single mothers, the youth and for others after genuine attacks and tragic fires.”
He went on: “We request that before publishing, regurgitating and circulating old, unsubstantiated fake news, all organisations, academics and institutions verify the facts and give the accused the opportunity to respond before publishing such material.
“We clearly understand that certain organisations publishing and circulating these allegations have their own agenda and are not interested in reporting facts but they are using Islamophobia as the main motivating factor for further military intervention in the international arena.
“We condemn the said report and invite all parties concerned to contact us directly to obtain our answers to these false allegations before publishing and circulating this report as fact.”
getwestlondon contacted the Henry Jackson Society for comment.
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!
