Transcript London imam subjected to death threats for supporting evolution

London imam subjected to death threats
for supporting evolution
Mosque suspends engineering lecturer
Usama Hasan for 'antagonising' community
and backing women's rightsDr Usama Hasan
has caused uproar with his views on
women’s right to refuse the veil and the
subject of evolution.\
An online petition against Hasan has
apparently attracted 1,100 signatories,
although they are not listed publicly. The
petition says they are "horrified" by his views
on evolution and call for him to be removed
before the mosque becomes a "hotbed of
modernist extremism".
London imam subjected to death threats for supporting
evolution
Mosque suspends engineering lecturer Usama Hasan for
'antagonising' community and backing women's rightsDr Usama
Hasan has caused uproar with his views on women’s right to
refuse the veil and the subject of evolution. Photograph: Don
McPhee for the Guardian An imam of an east London mosque
has been subject to death threats and intimidation for
expressing his views on evolution and women's right to refuse
the veil. Dr Usama Hasan, vice-chairman at Leyton mosque and
a senior lecturer in engineering at Middlesex University, ceased
delivering Friday prayers after 25 years of service when 50
Muslim protesters disrupted his lecture by handing out leaflets
against him and shouting in the mosque for his execution. A
statement from the secretary of the mosque, Mohammad Sethi,
that was leaked to extremist websites, said Hasan had been
suspended after his lecture resulted in "considerable
antagonism" from the community and for his "belief that Muslim
women are allowed to uncover their hair in public".
Sethi's letter, dated 24 February, said Hasan's views were in
"violation of the constitution of the Masjid Trust" and that the
decision had been made for the "safety and security of all
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London imam subjected to death threats for supporting evolution
Mosque suspends engineering lecturer Usama Hasan for 'antagonising' community and backing women's rights
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Rowenna Davis
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 6 March 2011 15.47 GMT
Article history
Dr Usama Hasan has caused uproar with his views on women’s right to refuse the veil and the subject of evolution. Photograph:
Don McPhee for the Guardian
An imam of an east London mosque has been subject to death threats and intimidation for expressing his views on evolution and
women's right to refuse the veil.
Dr Usama Hasan, vice-chairman at Leyton mosque and a senior lecturer in engineering at Middlesex University, ceased delivering
Friday prayers after 25 years of service when 50 Muslim protesters disrupted his lecture by handing out leaflets against him and
shouting in the mosque for his execution.
A statement from the secretary of the mosque, Mohammad Sethi, that was leaked to extremist websites, said Hasan had been
suspended after his lecture resulted in "considerable antagonism" from the community and for his "belief that Muslim women are
allowed to uncover their hair in public".
Sethi's letter, dated 24 February, said Hasan's views were in "violation of the constitution of the Masjid Trust" and that the decision
had been made for the "safety and security of all parties".
But Suhaib Hasan, who is the imam's father and chairman of the mosque, posted a counter-statement on the mosque's website on
Thursday. It claimed his son had been the victim of a "vicious and predetermined agenda" by a "faction of trustees" and their decision
to remove him was void because their meeting was inquorate.
The chairman said the threats and disruption had come largely from Muslims outside the mosque's community.
The death threats against Hasan were made in an anonymous leaflet handed out by protesters. It quotes religious authorities saying
that any Muslim who believes in evolution is an "apostate" who "must be executed".
Hasan says he believes the leaflets were produced by the website Islamic Awakening. The website's leader, Abu Zubair, has led a
long campaign against Hasan including making threats when Hasan was delivering a lecture in January.
An online petition against Hasan has apparently attracted 1,100 signatories, although they are not listed publicly. The petition says
they are "horrified" by his views on evolution and call for him to be removed before the mosque becomes a "hotbed of modernist
extremism".
Suhaib Hasan said the petition was set up in the name of the mosque illegitimately by trustee Arif Saleem, a man Usama brought on
to the trust two years ago after they studied together at Imperial College.
An online petition against Hasan has apparently attracted 1,100 signatories, although they are not listed publicly. The petition says
they are "horrified" by his views on evolution and call for him to be removed before the mosque becomes a "hotbed of modernist
extremism".
Suhaib Hasan said the petition was set up in the name of the mosque illegitimately by trustee Arif Saleem, a man Usama brought on
to the trust two years ago after they studied together at Imperial College.
Hasan, who has taken out extra security on his house where he lives with his wife and four children, said he was adamant he would
not be leaving the mosque, although he would not be returning to give prayers for the time being.
"I'm not leaving," he said. "I've been here for 25 years and I fear that the mosque could fall into the hands of extremists. There are
plenty of other mosques in the country that have gone that way. My supporters [at the mosque] don't want that and are encouraging
me to stay to fight our corner.
"I've stopped giving prayers because they were interrupted by outsiders who were making some women members feel intimidated.
Most people come to the mosque once a week for a quiet space to pray and find peace and inspiration and I want to respect that."
However, he did issue a statement apologising for some of his "inflammatory" statements about evolution and retracted them.
Maajid Nawaz, executive director of the Quilliam Foundation, a thinktank on Islamic extremism where Hasan has worked, expressed
concern about the case.
"Dr Hasan comes from strong Islamist routes and is the son of a famous Wahhabi scholar," said Nawaz. "It's terrifying that he is
being hounded out of his position. I question the support the police and government have given him, particularly after the prime
minister's recent comments that we should be doing more to support Muslims who stand up to extremism.
"Until Cameron's speech, government policy has sent a message that it's OK to be an extremist as long as you don't blow yourselves
up. But if extremists like these are left to be the gatekeepers of our communities, we're in real danger."
Hasan said the police had been slow to take the death threats against him seriously, but that they were now monitoring his case.
Harun Yahya, a popular Islamic creationist scholar from Turkey, begins a UK tour in London on Monday, adding to the debate. Last
December Salir al-Sadlan, a senior Saudi-based scholar Salir al-Sadlan, said Muslims shouldn't pray behind someone who believed
in evolution in a speech at Green Lanes mosque in Birmingham.
Inayat Bunglawala, chair of Muslims4UK, a group promoting Muslim engagement in British society, said there was "widespread
ignorance" about evolution among the Muslim community. "Many traditional imams are grounded in ancient books in Arabic but have
very little grounding in science. I find it staggering how they can be so strongly opposed to evolution without reading about it. That
seems to be opposite of the very first commandment of the Qur'an, which is to read," Bunglawala said.
"Some of the language being used by Dr Hasan's opponents smacks of fanaticism. The shame is that, if his congregation do reject
him, then it may well deter other imams from undertaking a study of evolution and speaking about what they have learnt."
Islamic Awakening and other members of the mosque could not be reached for comment. Hasan said the dispute over his
suspension would be taken to the charity commission if it was not resolved soon.
"I've been a Londoner all my life and I grew up in that mosque," Hasan said. "I'm very passionate about living our lives in a modern
way but, as far as they [my opponents] are concerned, that makes me an extremist. I'm going to have to live with extra cautions for
the rest of my life."
This man believes our father Adam (as) was not made by Allah from clay, but was
the children of two ape like creatures. He also denies the Shariah of Allah in open
apostasy and the necessity of Hijab.
No, but We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it breaks the latter’s head,
and see, it vanishes. So woe to you for all the falsehood you attribute to
Allah!
Quran Translation, Surah al-Anbiya, 21:18
Though it may have passed many average Muslims by without them even noticing,
there has been increasing problems and discord in the Leyton Muslim community
around Masjid Tawhid due to the increasingly bizarre statements of its Imam
Usama Hasan, son of Sheikh Suhaib Hasan, the founder of the Masjid.
Masjid Tawhid back in the day used to be one of the leaders of the call to Islam in
the UK, calling Muslim and non-Muslim to the deen of Allah and refuting the
unislamic practices and beliefs of others where they strayed away from the
teachings of Islam and the beliefs and practices of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jammat.
Masjid Tawhid and organisations like JIMAS used to run Da’wah stalls calling the
non-Muslims to a pure form of Islam, as free as possible from the cultural
backwardness that coloured the beliefs of many Muslims.
I say as free as possible, because the people involved are only human, of-course
they will make some mistakes and we should make excuses as much as possible
for our brothers and sisters in Islam.
And though I don’t attribute myself to the Salafi Hizb (party) like many of them do,
seeing it as divisive…