A Power Line reader who describes himself as a “disgusted expat” has directed us to this mind-boggling Sunday Times of London story: “Giant mosque for 40,000 may be built at London Olympics.” The Times reports:
A massive mosque that will hold 40,000 worshippers is being proposed beside the Olympic complex in London to be opened in time for the 2012 Games.
The projects backers hope the mosque and its surrounding buildings would hold a total of 70,000 people, only 10,000 fewer than the Olympic stadium.
Its futuristic design features wind turbines instead of the traditional minarets, while a translucent latticed roof would replace the domes seen on most mosques. The complex is designed to become the Muslim quarter for the Games, acting as a hub for Islamic competitors and spectators.
It will be something never seen before in this country. It is a mosque for the future as part of the British landscape, said Abdul Khalique, a senior member of Tablighi Jamaat, a worldwide Islamic missionary group that is proposing the mosque as its new UK headquarters.
Tablighi Jamaat has come under scrutiny from western security agencies since 9/11. Two years ago, according to The New York Times, a senior FBI anti-terrorism official claimed it was a recruiting ground for Al-Qaeda. British police investigated a report that Mohammad Sidique Khan, leader of the July 7 London bombers, had attended its present headquarters in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. In August, Bavaria expelled three members of the organisation on the grounds that it promoted Islamic extremism.
I leave it to others smarter than I to comment appropriately.
UPDATE: Hammerswing75 comments here.
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