UK: Finsbury Park Mosque detains journalist after tricky questions

---

I then spent the next 30 minutes asking to be let out of the room, with Kozbar and another man who did not identify himself refusing to let me go. I too dialed “999” to alert police that I was being held there against my will.

Mohammed Kozbar, chairman of the North London Central Mosque
Photo: The Independent | UK

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Al Arabiya News, London
By Ben Flanagan | August 24, 2014

London’s Finsbury Park Mosque is still struggling to shake off its association with “hate preacher” Abu Hamza – yet it does not seem to be doing itself many favors in the public-relations stakes.

Abu Hamza al-Masri’s sermons attracted the likes of 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and failed shoe bomber Richard Reid, earning the mosque the reputation as a “suicide factory” and “Al-Qaeda camp in the heart of London.”

The dark days of Abu Hamza are long gone: Finsbury Park Mosque came under new management in 2005; its hook-handed former imam was this year convicted of 11 terrorism charges in the United States.

But as the mosque continues to rebuild its reputation, I can offer a few words of PR advice: Generally speaking, it’s best not to lock journalists in rooms against their will, no matter how much their questions may irk you.

‘New era’

Earlier this year, I was commissioned to write about the so-called “new era” at Finsbury Park Mosque.

I duly contacted Mohammed Kozbar, manager of the mosque, to arrange an interview and met him there in early July.

I began by asking about the transformation of place – its new relationship with the wider community, how the congregation has changed, and how it still suffers from the Abu Hamza link despite the change in management.

Kozbar answered these questions, but was less chatty when it came to my next line of enquiry.

I asked if the mosque had any links to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that has come under the scrutiny of the British government and is banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Kozbar quickly became defensive, saying that this was not the agreed subject of the interview. I argued that any political affiliations of the mosque management and trustees seemed to me very much on-topic; Kozbar reluctantly answered some questions on the matter.

Locked in

But things took a turn for the worst immediately after the interview. Kozbar demanded a copy of the interview tape, something I said I was happy to provide on the spot. But as I was in the process of complying with that request, Kozbar called the police, saying that he was suspicious of my journalistic credentials. The door of his office was then locked, effectively imprisoning me in the mosque.

I then spent the next 30 minutes asking to be let out of the room, with Kozbar and another man who did not identify himself refusing to let me go. I too dialed “999” to alert police that I was being held there against my will.

Kozbar and his colleague insisted that I produce certain identification documents before they let me out of their office; otherwise, I was to wait until police arrived.

As a freelance journalist having recently returned from an eight-year stint in the Middle East, I have not yet renewed my membership of the National Union of Journalists, and so was unable to produce the NUJ card that Kozbar requested.

I did however show him an email from the commissioning editor specifically commissioning the story, along with several other forms of identification and my media credentials from previous work.

None of that satisfied Kozbar, who kept me locked in his office for about 30 minutes until local police arrived, despite my emphatic pleas to be released. After brief questioning and identity checks by police, I was free to go. I decided not to press any formal charges.

I telephoned Kozbar the next day, when things were calmer, to ask about his motivations for locking me in his office. He said he was worried I was a “malicious” journalist who was somehow misrepresenting myself.

I called him again on Aug. 19 to speak about the incident, noting that I would be writing about it in an article. During the brief call, he denied he had locked me inside the mosque and said he would not comment any further, adding that the case had been closed.

“From my side, the issue is closed," he said. "At the moment I have nothing to say,” he said.

[ more ... ]


Read original post here: Finsbury Park Mosque detains journalist after tricky questions


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.