Reports suggest that a plan by the Muslim group Tablighi Jamaat to build a mosque in West Ham have been rejected by the Government amid fears such a structure would create divisions between communities.
The Sunday Telegraph reported sources close to the Government said it had made the decision to reject an appeal after the plans were originally rejected by the local council.
The whole saga, which has lasted more than a decade, has been tarnished by smears and accusations that TJ is linked to terrorism – accusations that it and the wider Muslim community have rejected.
The plans were strongly opposed by some members of the East London community, including former councillor Alan Craig, and far-right groups including Britain First. Craig said: “This is fantastic news. For a decade and a half, Tablighi Jamaat has pulled out every stop to get its way, but at last the spectre is over.”
Plans to build the mosque were originally rejected by Newham’s planning committee way back in 2012 over fears it would be too large.
But Tablighi Jamaat took the planning application to a public inquiry, where it would have had to have the approval of Communities Secretary Greg Clark, who is believed to have rejected it.
A source told the Sunday Telegraph: “This proposal has created a great deal of division in Newham . That would get a lot worse if the thing was built.”
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Known officially as the “Abbey Mills Markaz”, the mosque was set to be around 290,000 square foot large and situated near the Olympic Park in east London, and would have accommodated up to 9,300 worshippers.
