London – Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has praised a London mosque as a “place of peace, hope and solidarity” after the JC revealed it had hosted an antisemitic hate preacher.
Last week, the JC reported that Finsbury Park Mosque had hosted an Egyptian imam, Omar Abdelkafi, who pledged to “liberate” Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem from the “filth of the Jews”.
Abdelkafi is also on record quoting from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious antisemitic forgery that claims Jews seek to dominate the world.
The north-London mosque’s general secretary, Mohammed Kozbar, has described Abdelkafi as “our beloved preacher”.
Posting on the platform previously known as Twitter, Corbyn said: “Finsbury Park Mosque offers a place of peace, hope and solidarity to so many people in our community.
“We will not be divided by those in our media who seek to sow hatred and fear.
“It is love for our neighbours, whatever their faith, that unites us all.”
Kozbar also praised Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas who was killed by Israeli missiles in 2004, as a “martyr” on a visit to Gaza in 2015.
The JC investigation found that three other Muslim centres received taxpayers’ money despite having a history of offering pulpits to extremist speakers.
As a result, Communities Secretary Michael Gove and Home Secretary Suella Braverman demanded “due diligence” checks by both central and local government.
Corbyn, 74, was elected as leader of the Labour Party in 2015 and resigned following a historic defeat at the 2019 general election.
He was ousted from Labour earlier this year following a row over antisemitism.
Finsbury Park Mosque was contacted for comment.
