The “counter-extremism” think-tank Quilliam Foundation announced yesterday that the former Imam of a major London mosque has joined their ranks.
Dr Salah Ansari “al-Azhari” who was the former Imam of London Central Mosque (Regents Park Mosque) officially joined Quilliam’s “Theology and Outreach Team” as a senior researcher.
The group stated on their website yesterday: “Quilliam is pleased to welcome the former imam of London Central Mosque, Sheikh Dr Salah Ansari al-Azhari as Senior Researcher in the Theology and Outreach Team”.
Dr Ansari had previously worked as visiting lecturer in Islamic Studies at Heythrop College, University of London, where he produced a PhD on “Muhammad Abu Zahra and Islamic Modernism”.
He is also a graduate in Classical and Modern Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
The cleric was appointed an Imam and teacher at the Central London Mosque, and then worked in a number of mosques in London, Margate, Woking and Basingstoke, where has led inter-faith activities.
Quilliam Foundation was set-up with Labour party member, Ed Husain and Maajid Nawaz, eight years ago after they both publicly renounced their former “Islamist” ideology whilst being part of Islamic political party Hizb-ut Tahrir.
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Since then, the organisation has received more than £2.7m in government funding, as well as financial support from the controversial American Tea Party neoconservatives.
