Finsbury Park Mosque, London
Finsbury Park in London has been a center of controversy. Photo: GFDL.
Location map and aerial view of Finsbury Park Mosque. For a larger
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Finsbury Park Mosque in Finsbury Park, London, was built c. 1990 to serve the large Muslim population in the area. It should not be confused with Regent's Park Mosque, also in London.
History
The mosque became associated with radical Islamism in the early 2000s, in particular related to its association with Abu Hamza al-Masri. The Charity Commission expressed concerns about the management of the mosque, and its apparent use for political activities.
On January 20, 2003 the mosque was raided by British police, apparently as part of the investigation into the discovery of ricin in Wood Green. A number of men who were apparently living at the mosque were arrested.
On February 4, 2003, Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri was removed from his position as an agent of the mosque.
On October 3, 2004, The Observer revealed that 46-year-old Kamel Rabat Bouralha attended the mosque. Bouralha, with UK citizens Osman Larussi and Yacine Benalia, were loyal to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. Basayev has boasted of training the men who took control of the school and wired it with explosives.
Investigators believe that the three men, all Algerian-born, travelled to Chechnya from London to take part in fighting there in 2001. Like Bouralha, they are believed to have attended Finsbury Park mosque and to have joined the network of groups loyal to Basayev on arrival in Chechnya.
