A mosque which hosted a cleric who prayed for defeat of ‘usurping Jews’ and ‘celebrated’ the October 7 attacks is to convert a luxury home into a new venue.
The Darul Ihsaan mosque, in Barking, East London, has been granted permission by a Labour council to turn the £1m house with a swimming pool into a new place of worship and community ‘wellbeing’ facility.
As well as housing a mosque, it will include a gym, creche, adults and children’s education classes, as well as a ‘mental health hub with health services and volunteering opportunities’.
The facility, in a residential street, will be open from 8am until 10pm daily, and until 11pm on some nights.
But local Jews and community leaders have been angered by the decision, which comes despite antisemitism campaigners accusing the mosque of hosting a string of events where clerics expressed ‘outrageous’ views.
Controversial cleric Ustadh Mahmood Almadani spoke at the mosque on October 7 2023, on the day of the Hamas massacre which killed around 1,200 people.
The co-founder of a religious school in east London made the remarks while Hamas fighters were still rampaging through southern Israel.
He reportedly prayed for the defeat of “usurping Jews” and the triumph of Islamic fighters in a sermon.
Cleric Ustadh Mahmood Almadani speaking at the Darul Ishaan Mosque on October 7, 2023
Almadani is said to have asked God to ‘shake the ground from underneath the feet of the usurping Jews’ and prayed for victory for ‘our mujahideen brothers in Palestine’.
The mosque advertised the talk, a ‘Qunoot Nazilah’, on October 7 and said the congregation would pray for ‘peace and success for the Palestinian people in the occupied territories’.
As well as hosting Almadani, Darul Ihsaan mosque hosted an event last year titled ‘Hamas de-proscription and legal strategies against Zionism’, which featured a lawyer acting on behalf of Hamas, Fahad Ansari.
The mosque is only a few minutes away from three synagogues.
Barking and Dagenham Council gave planning permission for the conversion earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘Some of the reported rhetoric emerging from this mosque is outrageous.
‘It is shocking enough that the Charity Commission would let an institution like this continue to operate with business as usual. But for the local council to accommodate its ambition to expand is deeply concerning.
‘Our polling shows that 91% of British Jews do not think that the authorities are doing enough to tackle religious extremism.
The imposing three-storey house where the mosque has received planning consent to relocate
‘When it comes to planning permission, the local authority cannot just concern itself with the impact on parking and other mundane matters: it should ask itself who will feel welcome – and who will not – in the community that it is building.’
One local Jewish man, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It is shocking. Words have consequences.
‘We have tragically seen that in the Jewish community with the murder of innocent civilians in Britain and abroad.
‘This mosque needs greater scrutiny. The Jewish community is living in fear.’
When it won planning permission, one councillor said: ‘There is a swimming pool in this property in the garden, what are your plans for the swimming pool?’
One member of the mosque replied: ‘You’re more than welcome to come over in the summer.’
The mosque is boasting on social media that ‘planning permission has already been approved’ and it is asking supporters to ‘buy a brick’ for the conversion work at the new site.
Locals said they were not happy with the plans. In total, there were 23 objections to the council and eight letters in support.
Current location of the Darul Ihsaan Mosque in Barking, East London, which plans to move
Concerns focused on car parking and extra traffic, noise and disturbance, loss of privacy and overlooking of neighbouring homes, plus objections to the hours of operation.
June Smith, 81, who lives on the street, said converting the house into a mosque was a ‘terrible idea’.
She said: ‘It’s an awful location for parking. It’s on a tight corner. It feels like the worst possible place.’
Eli Colucci, 28, added: ‘We’ve not had much communication about it. It’s going to be a big project, I would have thought.’
Eli Colucci, who lives close to the house where the mosque plans to relocate
The mosque has been required to submit an ‘active travel plan’ to promote ‘car free’ visits – and will provide 22 parking places for cyclists.
A man at the house did not wish to comment when approached by the Daily Mail.
The Land Registry has not yet published details of the sale of the property to the mosque.
Darul Ihsaan mosque – which says it is ‘community-driven’ and ‘working on real and urgent issues in Barking and east London’ – was approached for comment.
The council approved the scheme subject to ‘mitigation’ measures, including ‘sound insulation’, to help neighbours.
Planning officials said there was an ‘identified need’ for the new mosque and ‘social infrastructure’ – adding ‘the principle of the proposed development (is) considered acceptable’.
Almadani – who co-founded and teaches at Sama Academy, in Bow, East London – a religious school for children as young as four – defended his remarks made during the Arabic-language sermon at Darul Ihsaan mosque.
Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, he defended Palestinians’ ‘right to resist’ but added: ‘I do not condone violence against innocent civilians, as this is a clear violation of my faith and the Qur’anic principle that upholds the sanctity of life irrespective of religion.’
Darul Ihsaan mosque said use of terms such as ‘mujahideen’ are ‘rooted in Islamic spiritual language’ and ‘not political endorsements nor incitements to harm’.
