A MUSLIM leader appointed to help to run the recently reopened Finsbury Park mosque in north London is a former military commander of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organisation. Mohammed Kassem Sawalha is one of five trustees appointed to give the mosque a fresh start.

The mosque was closed last year after becoming a centre of Islamic militancy under Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical cleric facing charges in Britain and America.

Sawalha’s link with Hamas emerged after he was named as a co-conspirator in an American court case involving racketeering and conspiracy. Last week the cleric, who arrived in Britain 15 years ago and has been given indefinite leave to remain, said that he still supported Hamas, notorious for its suicide attacks in Israel.

However, he said he was committed to peace in Britain and would help to run the mosque in an open and inclusive way. “I am supported by the Muslim community and have been working ever since I arrived for that community,” he said.

Asked whether he supported the military activities of Hamas, he replied: “I have no comment on the question of military activity. I am working here to give a new direction to this mosque and break with the past.”

According to US court documents, Sawalha was a leading militant in the early 1990s “in charge of Hamas terrorist operations within the West Bank”. The documents, from the federal court in Chicago, claim he met two of the three “conspirators” accused of laundering millions of dollars to finance Hamas activities, including the purchase of weapons.

The purpose of the first meeting with the men was alleged to have been to discuss revitalising Hamas’s operations. He met one of the men a second time in London in January 1993. Sawalha allegedly directed him “to provide money to various Hamas members and provided him with contact information”.

Although Sawalha is named as a co-conspirator, he has not been charged. Asked last week if he faced arrest in the United States, Sawalha said: “I have not tried to travel there.”

Sawalha was president of the Muslim Association of Britain which is believed to have links to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the oldest radical Islamic groups.

Abu Hamza is in prison facing trial in Britain on 16 charges, including incitement to murder, intending to stir up racial hatred and being in possession of a document “likely to be useful” to someone plotting terrorism. He is also awaiting extradition hearings on a warrant issued by the US Department of Justice.

Following his arrest a group of his supporters tried to take over the mosque, but after extensive discussion between the surviving trustees of the charity that runs the mosque — including Mohammed Sarwar, the Labour MP, the police and the Charity Commission, which had closed it — five new trustees were appointed.

Last night Sarwar, MP for Glasgow Govan, said he would remain a trustee despite being told of Sawalha’s links to Hamas. He was happy with the way the mosque was being run by the new trustees: “The Muslim community is delighted that the Abu Hamza regime is gone and the mosque is open.”

Barry Norman, the Metropolitan police chief superintendent who has been working closely with the trustees, said: “I am aware of the background, but if I took the view that I’m not working with this or that person I’d end up spending my whole life in my office.”

Additional reporting: Jessica Berry

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