Letter Against London Mosque

Dear Madam or Sir,

I wish to object to the above proposal. I understand that the proposal is not for just 'a place of worship', but in fact for a mosque and/or an Islamic cultural centre. I suspect that the omission is deliberate and aims to make no distinction between a mosque and a Christian church.

London is already particularly well-served by mosques, with the large London Central Mosque not too far distant in Regents Park. The area around the Trocadero, and particularly Soho, is well-known as a place for those with 'alternative' lifestyles, and hosts many well-established clubs and bars that cater for homosexuals, drag acts and the transgender community.

The establishment of an Islamic centre, in such a place, does not bode well for those for whom Soho and the West End are a sanctuary, particularly for young people exploring and coming to terms with their relative identities. A very large mosque in their midst, with Islam's notoriously illiberal attitudes towards gay people in particular, would be particularly unwelcome.
The establishment of a mosque or an Islamic cultural centre has nearly always been followed by increased community tensions as the austere inclinations of Islam come into conflict with the more liberal impulses of the free society it inhabits. Partisan and belligerent attempts to police the dress codes and mores of passers-by, by self-appointed Muslim moral guardians are the least of it. As the mosque becomes established, so the tendency for good community behaviour weakens and the well-publicised norms of predation of impressionable and vulnerable young women follows as the Islamic community gains in confidence and entitlement.

Everywhere that a mosque is built and becomes established, a pattern of abuse of the young female members of the host community follows in it's wake. It  has been estimated that 19 000 young women and girls are being abused each year by extreme adherents of Islam. Men that have become confident that their place in British society is assured, and that the authorities will do nothing to stop their excesses. It always starts with a mosque. I object to this proposal on the above grounds.