LONDON
\nThe Charity Commission is investigating claims of misuse of more than \u00a31m and corruption at one of the UK\u2019s biggest mosques \u2014 Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre in West London.
\nA viral video footage shows worshippers and the mosque management \u2014 who are mostly Pakistanis \u2014 getting into a brawl inside the mosque \u2014 amid accusations of harassment, abuse, intimidation, shoving, punching, and violence.
\nThe dispute started \u2014 published in mainstream UK papers \u2014 after the former friends and trustees of the mosques fell out with each other and started blaming each other.
\nPolice and an ambulance were called to the scene, the Sun reported.
\nA trustee of the mosque has resigned his position after 20 years of service \u2014 including 10 years as chairman \u2014 and a councillor has reported five alleged attacks on his home and car to cops, and begged the council and Labour bigwigs to step in.
\nIn his resignation letter from the mosque, Abdul Majid told how when he ran the Hounslow Jamia Masjid, the bank balance was consistently between \u00a3400,000 to \u00a3500,000 in credit.
\nAbdul Majid stated: \u201cUnfortunately, the current financial state of the mosque is a cause for great concern, with the account balance now very low. This, among other matters, has compelled me to conclude that I can no longer continue in this role in good conscience.\u201d
\nAround \u00a3300,000 of charitable donations collected each year at the mosque \u201cdo not appear in any official accounts or bank records\u201d. Large collections for the Gaza crisis are \u201cunaccounted for\u201d, he has alleged.
\nMajid referred to documents in which the firm BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions filed a claim for \u00a3150,000 against the mosque\u2019s 11 trustees in a row over a 12-year lease of photocopiers. An out-of-court settlement \u2014 \u201cwithout full board approval or proper discussion\u201d \u2014 means the mosque is paying the company \u00a35,000 per month until August 2027.
\nA lucrative security contract went to a close associate of the mosque\u2019s senior leadership team. Relatives were awarded the contract to supply groceries and meat to the mosque. A series of contracts have been reported without a transparent bidding process, the Charity Commission was told.
\nIt has been suggested that \u201cunqualified\u201d individuals have been appointed to key financial positions. There is a major problem surrounding \u201cfamilial relationships\u201d, the Charity Commission was told.
\nThe councillor also reached out to Dan Bowring, chair of the Brentford and Isleworth Constituency Labour Party. He called for a formal Labour Party probe into the \u201cconduct of certain individuals within our party who are misusing their official positions and community influence to incite hostility and endanger the safety of elected members.\u201d
\nThe mosque is frequented by up to 4,000 Muslims a day.
\nA source at the mosque said about the leaked fight footage that some worshippers were banned from the premises after leaders accused them of causing \u201cbreach of the peace and public disorder\u201d.
\nOne of the people also banned from the mosque was the councillor. Those expelled were told that returning to the mosque would be viewed as \u201ctrespass\u201d and tensions are still understood to be \u201cheightened\u201d.
\nThe Charity Commission, responsible for ensuring the governance, management, and administration of a charity is fit for purpose, said in a statement: \u201cWe have opened a regulatory compliance case into Hounslow Jamia Masjid and Islamic Centre to assess concerns regarding the charity\u2019s governance.\u201d
\nA source at the mosque said: \u201cIt\u2019s all about personal animosity. There is no truth to the allegations. The people involved in the dispute used to be best of friends, had joint business and social matters. They fell out and have taken their personal issues to the mosque, making it a big issue. The allegations are baseless and frivolous.\u201d
\nThe mosque source said that they will set out their position very soon and bring facts before the public and the worshippers. He said every allegation of financial corruption is false.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON The Charity Commission is investigating claims of misuse of more than \u00a31m and corruption at one of the UK\u2019s biggest mosques \u2014 Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre in West London. A viral video footage shows worshippers and the mosque management \u2014 who are mostly Pakistanis \u2014 getting into a brawl inside the mosque […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511114,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-511083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n