Mosque visited by members of the Royal Family was attended by members of the ISIS ‘Beatles’ and should have had counter-extremism funding reviewed, report into Prevent finds
- Report showed Al-Manaar Muslim Centre was attended by terror suspects
- The cultural centre was visited frequently by the Duchess of Sussex in 2018
- Read more: Royal family ‘fully expecting’ Harry and Meghan to attend coronation
A mosque that has been visited by William, Harry and Meghan should have had its counter-extremism funding reviewed after it was linked to jihadists, according to the report into Prevent.
The report highlighted how Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in West London was attended by terror suspects, including members of the ISIS execution gang dubbed the ‘Beatles’.
The centre, which has received at least £100,000 in Prevent funding, was visited frequently by the Duchess of Sussex in 2018. Several times she went to a community kitchen there as its staff were at the forefront of helping victims of the Grenfell fire. The Duchess also championed a cookbook that raised funds for the centre’s Hubb Community Kitchen.
The Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in West London, which has received at least £100,000 in Prevent funding, was visited frequently by the Duchess of Sussex in 2018
In November 2018 an investigation by the Henry Jackson Society, the anti-extremism think tank, linked the mosque to 19 jihadists.
Now William Shawcross, a former boss of the Charity Commission and the author of a long-awaited review into Prevent, has raised his own concerns about Al-Manaar and said he is ‘disappointed’ its funding from the counter-terrorism programme was not ‘reconsidered’.
Although Al-Manaar is not named in the report, it can be identified via footnotes, which include an invitation to an event it hosted.
‘While the institution has stated it rejects and condemns…terrorism, with such coverage raised…I am disappointed the severity of these concerns was not sufficient for the [organisation] to have its Prevent funding re-considered,’ he added.
In a statement issued in 2018, Al-Manaar said it rejected and condemned extremism and terrorism.
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