The East London Mosque has been associated with extremism since it was built. It was partly funded by Wahhabists from Saudi Arabia. When a study centre was set up as an extension of the mosque in June 2004, the guest of honour who opened it was Sheikh Abdur-Rahman al-Sudais (Sudeis), senior imam at the Grand Mosque of the Ka'abah at Mecca.

The chairman of the East London Mosque is Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari. In June 2006, he became the head of the Muslim Council of Britain, a group which has promoted itself as the leading voice of "moderate" Islam in Britain. Dr Bari invited the far-from-moderate Islamist Delear Hossain Sayeedi to the mosque in 2006, a man who has called Hindus excrement and supported the killing of US and British soldiers.

A case finished at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday this week which raises questions about whether the East London Mosque is an asset to the community or a threat.

The news is carried by the Sun, Reuters, BBC, View London and 4RFV.

Abdul Makim Khalisadar, aged 26, pleaded guilty to raping a woman at knifepoint and was jailed for 10 years.

Khalisadar, of Hampton Road, Forest Gate in east London, had forced his way into the 27-year-old woman's Whitechapel home in the early hours of October 16 2005. The woman was returning to her home around 3 am, when Khalisadar pushed past her. He said "I am going to rape you" two times.

Prosecutor Simon Carr told the court that the woman told him she was pregnant with twins to persuade him to desist, but he raped her anyway. He stole a mobile phone from her home.

Khalisadar punched the woman several times before threatening her with the knife and raping her. After the attack, she had bruises on her arms, leg and face. He had told his victim: "You love your Daddy." When the woman did not comply and call him "daddy", she was punched in the face.

A year after the rape incident he was arrested on another issue and a routine DNA sample was taken. This proved to be linked to samples taken after the woman's rape which were found on her body and clothes.

At first Khalisadar said to police that there had been no rape and that the woman had consented to sex. Then he changed his story and said that he had been at East London Mosque. He said that he had been preaching there during Ramadan, giving a talk on the subject of repentance.

He managed to get seven men from the mosque to give him a fake alibi, backing up his story that he had been at the mosque when he had been raping the woman.

Last month, Belal Ahmed, 24, Tanbir Ahmed, 24, Mohammed Tahar Hussain, 25, Iqbal Hussain-Ali, 25, Tony Autier, 30, Thouhid Ahmed, 24, and Shaherul Islam Khan, 24 admitted lying to the police in their statements. They were sentenced on Monday to 12 months' jail for perverting the course of justice.

While Khalisadar was under police investigation, he was arrested for downloading images of child abuse from the internet. As a result of this arrest, he was given a DNA test, which matched the sample from the woman's rape.

According to DCI Stuart Wratten from Tower Hamlets: "Khalisadar attacked, raped and robbed a young woman to satisfy his desire and interest in sexual violence against women. At first he claimed the attack was consensual, then he denied being involved and hatched a plan to create a false alibi with the help of his co-conspirators. Once this plan was discovered by police and with the overwhelming evidence against him he only then decided to admit his guilt.

"His co-conspirators were content to go along with the plan, which if successful would have seen a violent rapist evade justice. Evidence discovered during the investigation revealed Khalisadar had an interest in sexual violence against women."

Khalisadar was unemployed, but had formerly been a teaching assistant in a primary school, helping children with Maths and English. He also worked with a project against drugs and violence in Brick Lane in Tower Hamlets.

He finally admitted his guilt during the trial, but said that a substance he had taken to help him fast during Ramadan had made him "hyper". This appears to have been a form of amphetamine (speed).

Khalisadar was given a ten year jail sentence by Judge Timothy King, who condemned Khalisadar's "hypocrisy". He was given a seven and a half year sentence for the rape, with an additional two and a half years for perverting the course of justice.

Somewhat surprisingly, in none of the news reports are there any comments from Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari condemning the activities of the seven males from the East London Mosque who plotted to support Khanisadar's lies.

Nor is there any comment from Bari explaining how young people are allowed to be in the mosque at 3.30 am, and whether or not he claims any responsibility for allowing a young thug like Khalisadar to preach on mosque premises.

The Sun states that on Monday, when the trial concluded, women wearing burkas in the courtroom's "public gallery yelled abuse at the judge - and one screamed that the victim was a prostitute."

Eleven charges which were formerly brought against Khalisadar for possessing pictures of child abuse are not being pursued at present.

Adrian Morgan is the Westminster Journal Current Affairs Editor

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