A MUSLIM community centre was denied security funding by the Home Office despite being told it is vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
The North London Muslim Community Centre (NLMCC) in Stoke Newington has accused the government of “risking many lives” by not funding security measures at Islamic faith institutions.
Munaf Zeena, Chair of the NLMCC, said: “The Home Office has abandoned us. It’s like talking to a brick wall.”
His comments come after 50 people were killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, last week.
Documents seen by the Hackney Post reveal that a Metropolitan Police officer conducted an assessment of the NLMCC on behalf of the Home Office in July 2017 – one month after a far-right extremist drove a van into worshippers outside Finsbury Park Mosque, killing one and injuring nine others.
The officer concluded that he “was satisfied that the… community centre is vulnerable to attack on racial, religious or ideological grounds”, highlighting at least four aspects of the complex where security was inadequate.
The report also recommended several security measures “that will be most effective” for the NLMCC, including the installation of “a comprehensive CCTV system”, “a new secure boundary” that “must be at least 1.8m high” and “a sanctuary room that staff and worshippers could escape to in the case of a serious incident”.
However the NLMCC’s application for what was then known as the Vulnerable Faith Institutions Scheme – introduced by the Home Office to provide “protective security measures to places of worship and associated community centres” – was rejected in December 2017. No reason was given.
A Hackney council representative encouraged the NLMCC to apply for funding again when the second round of applications opened later that year, insisting in an email that the centre was “in a unique position to deliver a strong application”.
But when the NLMCC tried to apply again, the Home Office said it was no longer eligible for funding because the criteria had changed to exclude “associated community centres”. It has since been renamed the Places of Worship Protective Security Fund.
Critics say that the revelations show the government must do more to protect vulnerable Muslim communities from the growing threat of far-right extremism after last week’s attack in Christchurch.
Diane Abbott, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary and MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said: “It seems the Home Office is completing a tick box exercise rather than properly assessing the threats to the Muslim community.
“We live in very frightening times, and the rise in hate crime as well as the horrific recent terrorist attack in New Zealand show us that we must do all we can to protect vulnerable religious communities.”
A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “One would hope in the wake of very recent attacks on mosques and Islamic centres, the Home Office will review their application requirements to be more inclusive of the diverse range of Muslim institutions within the UK.”
Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced this week that the government has doubled the amount of money available for protective security at mosques and other places of worship to £1.6 million, though it remains unclear whether community centres like the NLMCC will be able to apply for assistance.
Zeena said: “The government is ignorant. They have this view that the mosque is the only hub in a Muslim community – that is old-fashioned thinking. We don’t just pray.
“A person who wants to attack Muslims is not going to differentiate between a mosque and a community centre.”
The Hackney Post can also reveal that one mosque in Hackney was told in July 2018 that there was no point in applying for Home Office funding because it would not be successful.
An administrator from the Aziziye Mosque in Stoke Newington said: “I phoned up the council, but was given the impression that we would not be able to get funding because we already have CCTV and a fire alarm.
“I emailed a police officer and he said the same thing, that the deadline was very close and we did not fit the criteria [the Home Office] is looking for.”
According to data gathered through the freedom of information website WhatDoTheyKnow.com, the Home Office received seven applications for funding from London-based Muslim institutions in 2016-17, only three of which were successful.
A further 19 applications for funding from Muslim institutions across England and Wales were approved in 2017-18.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Government is clear that all hate crime, including that targeted towards a particular faith, is absolutely unacceptable.
“The Home Secretary yesterday announced increased funding for next year’s Places of Worship Protective Security Fund and allocated £5m over three years for security training for places of worship.
“We have also committed to consulting with communities on what more could be done to protect faith institutions including community centres.”
