Author: Vijay Dutt
Publication: Hindustan Times
Date: February 18, 2002
Finsbury Park mosque in north London
was used as a base to impart arms training to British Islamic militants,
intelligence sources were quoted in The Observer.
These activities are now being linked
to Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda group. Some of the Al-Qaeda fighters detained
and interrogated in Peshawar have admitted to receiving battlefield instructions
from a doctor who lectured at the mosque.
Consignments of medical supplies
too were reportedly sent from there. MI5 agents have revealed that supplies
including radio and telecommunication equipment were dispatched via the
mosque to Pakistan for distribution in Al-Qaeda training camps. An organisation
based inside the mosque allegedly prepared and supplied false documents
to hundreds of youths through agents. Inquiry is also on about two shooting
ranges near Bradford, sources said.
MI5 agents told The Observer that
the reputation of the mosque drew radical extremists from all over Europe.
These included Feroz Abbasi, a Croydon-based computer engineer, who was
indoctrinated at the mosque. He is currently held at the Camp X-Ray in
Cuba. The first major protest against the US and UK action in Afghanistan
was also held near this mosque. Following this demonstration MI5 deployed
'worshippers', who opposed the hardline stance taken by Abu Hamza, one
of the leaders at the mosque.
Believed to be the most radical
mullah in Britain, Hamza was wanted for alleged terrorist activities in
Yemen. He, however, denied the allegations and refuted reports of illegal
activities inside the mosque. He said Yemeni and Egyptian agents were trying
to malign his reputation.
He tried to defend himself by saying
that it was not possible to keep a check on all the activities inside the
mosque. Last month there were reports that a video showing execution of
Algerian conscripts had been circulated in the mosque.
