Boris on mega-mosque: "I'm opposed to divisive structures"

Recently-elected Mayor of London Boris Johnson has made his first comments about the controversial proposals by Islamic sect Tablighi Jamaat to construct Europe's biggest mosque at West Ham in east London, close to the site of the 2012 Olympics.

Interviewed in London's Evening Standard on 10 June 2008, Boris said that he was opposed to any structures and initiatives that "could be said to be divisive or threatening".

However the plans for the mega-mosque have not yet been published and he was cautious about expressing a firm view at this stage "because of my particular planning role" - an apparent reference to the Mayor's key role in approving major planning applications across London.

Cllr Alan Craig who has been leading local opposition to the mosque said he was delighted by the Mayor's comments. "Boris has immediately highlighted one of the issues surrounding the mosque - its divisive nature," he said. "Londoners want bridge-building and cohesion, not a massive monument to division and separatism."

Cllr Craig also pointed out that the newly-elected Mayor may not yet have fully understood his planning role in respect of the mosque, as planning decisions along the Lower Lea valley where the proposed mosque is sited are in the hands of the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, not the Mayor of London.

"But it's good that as Mayor Boris is taking a positive political lead," said Alan Craig, "even if he won't be the one to decide on the mosque's planning application."

Notes: The Mayor's statement in the Evening Standard on 10 June 2008 was:

NEWHAM MEGA-MOSQUE: "Because of my particular planning role, any comment I make about the mega-mosque would make it impossible for me to have any view In general, I'm opposed to structures or initiatives of any kind that could be said to be divisive or threatening but that in no way prejudices my position on any mosque of any description."