Controversy Surrounds Opening of Mosque in London Area

October 3, 2003

Source: The Daily Telegraph (Online)

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&xml=/news/2003/10/03/nmosq03.xml

On October 3, 2003 The Daily Telegraph (Online) reported, "Members of the Ahmadi community will today inaugurate what they describe as the largest mosque complex in western Europe, able to accommodate more than 10,000 worshippers. The Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, Surrey, which features a 50ft stainless steel dome and a 100ft minaret, opens amid controversy.  The community is not recognised by other Muslims as genuinely Islamic...Iqbal Sacranie, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain...argued that it should not even use the word mosque to describe the building. 'They can call their place of worship by any name except for a mosque because that is for Muslims,' he said. 'They are outside the fold of Islam.' A person could be a Muslim only if he or she believed that the prophet Mohammed was the last and final messenger of God, he said. However, the community, which was founded by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in northern India in 1889, believes that its founder was the final messanger. It claims to have 200 million followers."