Finsbury Park Mosque Demands Removal from UK Terrorism Blacklist

Strategic Insights -

The chairman of Finsbury Park mosque has called for his institution to be removed from a confidential terrorism blacklist used by UK high street banks, accusing it of "alienating and demonising" the Muslim community. Mohammed Kozbar made the demand following a BBC Radio 4 documentary, which exposed how HSBC had cancelled the accounts of several prominent Islamic bodies without explanation last year. The mosque was once linked to radical Islamist cleric Abu Hamza in the late 1990s but has since sought to purge its extremist past and integrate with the wider community.

Key Takeaways:

  • Finsbury Park mosque has been classified as a terrorism risk on World-Check, a risk-analysis database owned by Thomson Reuters, despite no recent links to extremism.
  • The mosque's chairman, Mohammed Kozbar, has demanded to be removed from the blacklist, citing its impact on the Muslim community's integration efforts.
  • HSBC cancelled the accounts of the mosque and several other Islamic bodies in 2015, without explanation, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary.
  • The mosque has been described as a "wonderful community asset" by Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn, who visited the mosque in July last year, just months before HSBC closed its account.
  • The Cordoba Foundation thinktank, which has been classed as "terrorism" on World-Check, denies any association with extremist groups.
  • Anas Altikriti, the Cordoba Foundation's chief executive, has spoken out against the UAE's designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.

Statistics:

  • 49 out of the world's top 50 banks use World-Check, a risk-analysis database owned by Thomson Reuters, to assess terrorism risks.
  • The UK government has called for the Muslim community to integrate more with wider British society, but high street banks' classification of benign institutions as terrorism risks may undermine these efforts.
  • 10 out of the 20 high street banks in the UK have cancelled accounts of Muslim groups in the past 2 years, according to the BBC Radio 4 documentary.
  • The UAE government has branded the Muslim Brotherhood, a mainstream Islamist movement, as a terrorist organization.

Sources:

  • BBC Radio 4 documentary: "HSBC, Muslims and Me" (airing on Tuesday, 8pm)
  • The Guardian: "HSBC shuts accounts of Muslim organisations, including Finsbury Park mosque"
  • The Telegraph: "Bankers' 'terror list' creates divisions in the Muslim community"
  • World-Check website: "Risk-analysis database" (undated)