Quwwatul Islam Mosque in Preston has received a backlash from the local community after hosting a meeting with Zionists from Greater Manchester’s Jewish Representative Council (JRC).
The idea for the meeting was mooted in August by Jeremy Dable, a pro-Israel representative of Preston City Council’s inter-faith group, who was working closely with the JRC.
Mosque officials at Quwwatul Islam agreed to and subsequently held the meeting on September 26 without consulting or informing its congregation. 5Pillars understands that they were informed about who would be attending the meeting prior to it taking place.
Nevertheless, the Muslim council official who arranged the meeting at Quwwatul Islam Mosque has told 5Pillars that they are “blameless,” and he would never have held the meeting if he knew it would be with Zionists.
Local residents Faisal Bodi, Adil Tagari, Naima Adam, and Aneesah Bana were among congregation members who issued an open letter of criticism regarding the actions of the mosque’s officials.
The signatories argue that hosting such an organisation without proper vetting procedures may effectively lend support to groups that “are known to spread Islamophobia,” thereby indirectly endorsing their harmful narratives.
According to the letter, Jeremy Dable is described as being “well known in local, political and inter faith circles” to be “a hard line Zionist.”
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The signatories express their bewilderment, stating: “It is all the more perplexing that anyone from the Muslim community would entertain his request.”
Dable on countless occasions has professed his pro-Zionist stance. In one instance he declared that anyone with a “communal sense of their Jewish identity” should by extension identify as a “Zionist.”
The open letter further addresses the elected committee members of Quwwatul Islam by stating: “your decision to meet the JRC is despicable, unjustifiable and does not represent the community that you serve, particularly in the current climate, and it behoves you to explain your actions to the people to whom you are accountable.”
Who are the JRC?
The JRC itself is recognised as the leading body addressing concerns within the regional Jewish community. Its affiliates include several Jewish groups, many of which are staunchly Zionist and hostile to the Palestinian struggle.
One post on its X page brands demonstrators taking part in the pro-Palestine marches as “anti-semitic hate marchers” supporting “Pro-Hamas” sentiments.
One of the JRC’s most influential affiliates is the North West Friends of Israel – a hard line Zionist body whose website identifies its mission as “Advocating for Israel” and “Combatting BDS.” Its co-chair Raphi Bloom, also attended the meeting at Quwwatul Islam.
They have been criticised for lobbying stronger British support for Israel and for attempting to discredit and silence pro-Palestinian activism by labelling it as “extremist” or “antisemitic.”
Quwwatul Islam response
5Pillars approached the mosque and received a response from Mukhtar Master, a Muslim representative at Preston City Council.
Master told 5Pillars that he was approached by the “Jewish Lead from the Preston Faith Covenant” asking him to facilitate a meeting with so called “Jewish leaders in the Northwest” and Muslim leaders from Preston.
He said that he put this request to all the mosques of Preston and Quwwatul Islam Mosque was the preferred venue.
Master explained that mosque officials did not give the meeting much more thought because they were distracted by a large event happening at the masjid as well as the tragic deaths of two young local Muslims.
He said: “As the facilitator of the meeting, it was my duty and responsibility to vet and check the individuals that we were meeting on the 26th September. However, in the weeks leading up to the meeting, my local community and masjid were devastated by the news of a road traffic accident that had led to the deaths of two young lads and another seriously injured. My mosque, my community, my friends, my neighbours, my family and I were grieving. As a result – I had lost all interest in the meeting that was planned for the 26th September.
“We only realised that we were meeting with Zionists – when these so called ‘Jewish Leaders’ introduced themselves at the meeting. I would never have asked for a mosque to host the meeting – had I known they were Zionists. Nevertheless, I can categorically state that Quwwatul Islam Mosque is utterly blameless.”
Master addressed 5Pillars directly by saying: “The true Zionists are currently physically destroying mosques in Gaza as we speak. Would you honestly seek to ‘destroy’ the reputation of a ‘House of Allah’ – especially when the mosque and its representatives are faultless?… The people of Preston who know me well, it is laughable to even contemplate that I would be party to any action, which may be deemed or interpreted as being pro-Zionist.”
‘Zionist infiltration’ into Muslim spaces
The city of Preston has a strong track record of anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine activism, which has received national and international attention.
The meeting held at Quwwatul Islam Mosque came on the same day as the JRC’s meeting with Preston City Council. It is believed that one of the topics discussed during these meetings was Preston Council’s recent decision to twin with a Palestinian town.
Jeremy Dable told the Lancashire Evening Post that “this is not offering friendship – this is offering support to one side in a war.”
Given the timing, the open letter by local residents suggests that the JRC may have been attempting to frame the mosque meeting as a “Muslim-friendly” gesture, possibly diverting attention from its controversial stance on Palestine. And unfortunately, according to one of the signatories, elected officials at Quwwatul Islam “fell right into the trap.”
The meeting therefore could be indicative of a growing trend of local normalisation efforts.
In an email from Dable to Preston’s Muslim faith covenant (Mukhtar Master), he outlines an “eagerness to establish a direct relationship with Muslim leaders in Preston.”
David Miller, former professor at Bristol University, warns in a post on X of a “repertoire of subversion and infiltration tactics, such as the sponsorship of Zionist interfaith activities.”
Professor Miller cites the example of such collaboration with the controversial pro-Israel Board of Deputies of British Jews’ “Nisa-Nashim” campaign – a heavily criticised campaign sponsored by the government to “bring closer” inter-faith interests.
