Hartlepool mosque decided to open its doors a few days ago and to invite a London based Imam to answer questions about Islam in a bid to raise greater awareness and understanding of the faith. The Nasir mosque, in Brougham Terrace, invited Maulana Ataul Mujeeb Rashed to speak. It seems that it was lost on extremist far right sympathisers that the Imam in question was an Ahmaddiya Muslim, a sect of Islam that promotes peace, and mutual understanding and which has promoted the slogan, ‘Love for All, Hatred for None.‘
The Ahmaddiya community has itself suffered anti-Muslim incidents as well as intra-Muslim hate, where they have been targeted by a minority of Muslims as being heretical and not in the mainstream of Islam. Yet, all of this important information was lost on far right bigots who posted the following in the Sunderland Defence League’s closed Facebook page. Now, it also seems that Darrell Copeland is a sympathiser for the North East Infidels group.
Darrell Copeland misses the fact that the mosque in question is an Ahmaddiya one and the community counters extremism
Seems Darrell Copeland takes pictures of knives
North East Infidels and Pegida sympathisers tried to disrupt the event at the mosque in Hartlepool and they were all issued with Section 35 notices by the police under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, 2014. They were ordered to leave the area.
Note: we are grateful to TWAFA (Tyne and Wear Anti Fascist Association) for support and help in collating this material