DESPITE all the promises that the books condoning terrorism would be removed [from British mosques], as would the preachers advocating the rigid enforcement of the narrowest interpretration of sharia law and the overthrow of our liberal democracy – violent, intolerant prejudice continues to be preached, this time by women, in centres of ‘moderate Islam’, such as the Regent’s Park Mosque.
That quote, from an editorial in yesterday’s Telegraph, was published in advance of a Channel 4 documentary scheduled for broadcast tonight at 8 pm.
Sarah Hassan in a still from Undercover Mosque: The Return. Photo: Channel 4.
Undercover Mosque: The Return sounds like a horror movie – and indeed, that’s just what it is.
Sarah Hassan went undercover at the Regent’s Park Mosque where she joined the women’s circle.
In the main Telegraph report on the documentary, she writes:
In a large balcony above the beautiful main hall at Regent’s Park Mosque in London - widely considered the most important mosque in Britain - I am filming undercover as the woman preacher gives her talk.
What should be done to a Muslim who converts to another faith? ‘We kill him,’ she says, ‘kill him, kill, kill…You have to kill him, you understand?’
Adulterers, she says, are to be stoned to death - and as for homosexuals, and women who ‘make themselves like a man, a woman like a man … the punishment is kill, kill them, throw them from the highest place’.
These punishments, the preacher says, are to be implemented in a future Islamic state. ‘This is not to tell you to start killing people,’ she continues. ‘There must be a Muslim leader, when the Muslim army becomes stronger, when Islam has grown enough.’
A young female student from the group interrupts her: the punishment should also be to stone the homosexuals to death, once they have been thrown from a high place.
These are teachings I never expected to hear inside Regent’s Park Mosque, which is supposedly committed to interfaith dialogue and moderation, and was set up more than 60 years ago, to represent British Muslims to the Government. And many of those listening were teenage British girls or, even more disturbingly, young children.
Hassan adds:
Regent's Park Mosque in London
The mosque is meant to promote moderation and integration. But although the circle does preach against terrorism and does not incite Muslims to break British laws, it teaches Muslims to ‘keep away’ and segregate themselves from disbelievers: ‘Islam is keeping away from disbelief and from the disbelievers, the people who disbelieve.’
Friendship with non-Muslims is discouraged because ‘loyalty is only to the Muslim, not to the kaffir [disbeliever]‘.
The original Undercover Mosque was broadcast in January 2007. The contents were shocking: imams were shown praising the murder of British soldiers, attacking democracy, and condemning attempts to integrate Muslims into British society.
Undercover Mosque was then condemned for “damaging community relations” by West Midlands Police, who wanted to prosecute the programme makers and Channel 4 under racial hatred laws. On being told they could not do so, they referred the matter to the Broadcasting Standards Commission. The programme was eventually wholly vindicated, and West Midlands Police had to pay Channel 4 more than £100,000 for defaming it.
Stand by for more howls of protests from Muslim groups, and apologists for Islam, after tonight’s broadcast.
UPDATE – Sept 2, 2008: Bitininkas.blogspot.com has posted the documentary here.
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The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
September 1st, 2008 at 3:53 pm
a thing that I really don’t understand: they’re always saying things like “away from disbelievers” “disbeliever sucks” and so on… why then aren’t they in their perfect countries, where they can live a sharia-style life? Maybe because they would be the first to be stoned by others who think like “I believe better than you?”
Question: where can I find that documentary in the web? actually I don’t live in UK…
September 1st, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I’ve been wondering that myself. If they hate the West so much, why do they want to live here?
September 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Carlo, you can watch the documentary here. Channel 4 also allows you to catch up with its shows for the past seven days, so if this message reached you too late, you can catch it later,
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:02 am
As with the last undercover mosque this program shows some very disturbing material.
The goverment seems to turn a blind eye WHY!!
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 am
Carlo and C Girl,
…that is exactly what rips apart these fanatic’s ideologies every time. For all their psychotic frothings about the depraved/filthy/evil West, it is common knowledge that they would have to be dragged away kicking and screaming. Remember how Abu Hamza used to encourage holy war against the country from our generously provided platform, yet fought deportation all the way? He had thousands and thousands of reasons actually - all of them in the bank, and from the taxes of infidels.
Yes, the next few days will be interesting Michael, though, despite usually being an optimist, I fear not in a good way.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:28 am
Carlo –
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to watch it, even through the re-play service linked to by Barry. Channel 4 will block any IP address that’s not in the UK or Republic of Ireland, as I’ve just found out, trying to access this from Germany.
Which is a shame, given that German TV is such unadulterated shit.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Good news to those outside the UK. You can view the documentary here.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:12 pm
It’s so ironic that western governments will do anything to maintain good relations with the Saudis(especially where arms deals are concerned).
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:28 am
This is the right thing to do. Keep exposing the frauds and the liars and the haters. Never stop, because they surely never will.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:53 am
blah! I watched that documentary (thanks Barry and you all, and that Lithuanian website!). I knew that religion is a kind of mental insanity, but I’m really disgusted by what I saw here… And this is a “moderate” mosque in UK… I can’t even imagine what can happen anywhere else…
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
My blog is one of the two atheistic blogs in my country.
December 6th, 2008 at 1:34 am
And so the gap widens, i weep for our children. It is only the innocent that truely pay for attrocities in the twisted name of one God or the other.
All i want is to live my life to the fullest, for my children to live there lives to the fullest. Isnt that what everyone wants?
I really wish fundamentalist’s would grow up before its too late.
Nothing devine or otherwise give you the right to harm or to call for the harm of another Human being, and in the arrogant assumption that you have that right, you condemn yourself to be seen as inhuman.
No religion is ever tolerant, history has taught us that.
It saddens me that otherwise rational humans abandon reason because of a book. A book nothing more nothing less.