Leaders at Didsbury mosque have responded to criticism they faced in the Manchester Arena bombing public inquiry, denying they showed 'wilful blindness' to highly-charged political debate about conflict in Libya before the atrocity. The south Manchester mosque was yesterday (Thursday, March 2) heavily criticised in the third and final report of the public inquiry into the attack.
Elders were accused of 'weak leadership' and were found to have not paid 'sufficient attention' to what went on at the mosque. There were no policies in place that were 'robust enough to prevent the politicisation of its premises', inquiry chair Sir John Saunders said.
Chair of trustees Fawzi Haffar was also criticised for giving 'unreliable' evidence in saying the mosque had 'no ties to Libya' and no knowledge anyone from the mosque had gone to Libya. He was also accused of 'downplaying' the Abedi's family's links to the mosque.
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Suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who murdered 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at the arena on May 2017, and his jailed brother, Hashem Abedi, attended the mosque on Burton Road in West Didsbury as youngsters while their father, Ramadan Abedi, performed the call to prayer. Ismail Abedi, the elder brother, volunteered in the mosque's Arabic school - and their mother taught there briefly.
In a lengthy statement today the mosque said it 'does not agree' with the assertion that it leaders had been 'wilfully blind'.' "There were no meetings of radical Libyan groups at the mosque," the statement said. "Evidence was provided to the Inquiry that proved there is a longstanding policy of not allowing overseas politics at the mosque.
"Like many mosques the meeting room was hired for humanitarian aid work in Libya and for other countries, this is not evidence of extremism."
In response to the assertion Mr Haffar 'downplayed' the Abedi's family's links to the mosque, the statement said: "We provided details of Ismail Abedi, his mother and his sister working at the mosque to the inquiry. They have not been charged with anything to do with this attack and were DBS cleared.
"Mr Haffar has never met anyone from the Abedi family and answered at a personal level, which is the truth. Other trustees and staff confirmed what they knew to the Inquiry.
"Didsbury Mosque had been a place where Ramadan Abedi and their sons prayed until 2006 when they moved to a mosque in another part of the city, after which they went to Libya and then the children returned. They were not known to the mosque as adults (except Ismail), and this was not their local mosque.
"Our staff reported a visual sighting of Salman on a few occasions at Friday prayers. He is said to have prayed and left.
"No contact or conversations were reported to have taken place. Ramadan Abedi attended Ismail’s Islamic marriage contract as the witness and father, in the prayer hall.
"We were shown a recording of this only on the day of our public hearing. It was presented on the day as if it was evidence of an extremist circle at the mosque. Thousands of marriage contracts have been performed at this mosque; the staff cannot be expected to recall them all and the trustees are not aware of them."
The mosque also accused the inquiry of confusing 'political comments and discussions about conflicts overseas with extremism that leads to terrorism'. "Are the Muslim community not able to discuss any politics overseas?", the statement said.
"None of our trustees are of Libyan heritage. The breakdown of Libyan and non-Libyan staff and trustees was provided to the Inquiry at the outset. The Mosque has no links with Libya other than this."
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Haffar said he 'disagreed' with the inquiry's description of him as an 'unreliable witness' and denied downplaying the mosque's links to the Abedi family. "I never knew the family and I told the truth," he said.
Asked about political meetings taking place at the mosque, he said: "I am not sure if there were any meetings that took place to do with politics because we disallow politics." Asked if he had tried to find out, given he was asked about the matter at the inquiry, Mr Haffar ended the interview.
In its full statement, the mosque added: "Didsbury Mosque wishes to recognise the bravery and dignity shown by the victims and the families of victims during the course of the Inquiry and the evidence heard. The anguish felt by the victims cannot accurately be put into words and Didsbury Mosque wishes to offer its unwavering support to all those affected and hopes that the conclusion of this Inquiry can provide a pathway to obtaining some justice and closure.
"The Mosque will do all it can to ensure that it is a place of peace, calm, and safety for all those who come to worship or visit and recognises and understands how dangerous the scourge of extremism/terrorism can be. It will not be tolerated under any circumstances whatsoever."
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