Mosque puts plans to sue on hold

Aug 10 2007 By Jasbir Authi, Birmingham Mail

LEADERS of a Birmingham mosque at the centre of a controversial documentary about extremist preachers have put plans to sue on ice.

Undercover reporters from Channel 4's Dispatches secretly filmed cleric Abu Usamah At-Thahabi at Green Lane Mosque, in Small Heath, delivering lectures allegedly condemning Christians, Jews, women and non-believers.

The US-born Muslim convert was also taped calling for democracy to be torn down and replaced with an Islamic state and the murder of homosexuals.

The documentary caused outrage, including eight complaints from MPs, when it was aired in January.

It sparked a six-month investigation by West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, who studied 56 hours of footage.

They decided that programme makers "appeared to have completely distorted" the cleric's speeches - a claim vigorously rejected by Channel 4.

The police lodged a complaint with the watchdog Ofcom and mosque leaders announced they were considering taking legal action against Channel 4.

But Green Lane Mosque has now decided that they will wait for the results of an Ofcom report before proceeding any further.

Tassadaq Hussain, of Green Lane Mosque, said: "The committee members held a meeting on Wednesday and Thursday night and they are going to wait for Ofcom's report with regards to the documentary and take the next step from there.

"We have no idea when this report is going to be."

The hour-long documentary saw undercover reporters infiltrate a number of mosques including Green Lane.

Kevin Sutcliffe, Dispatches commissioning editor, said the programme had been in the public interest.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "We are very confident of successfully defending this unfairness complaint."