Tories demand probe into East London Mosque after women banned from fun run

REGULATORS have been asked to investigate an East London Mosque after women and girls over 12 years old were banned from taking part in a fun run in East London, as critics say the event flew in the face of "fundamental British values".

A letter sent to the charity commission and seen by the Express, claims that the 'Muslim Charity Run', which took place in London in October, and only allowed men and girls under the age of 12 to take part, follows a "wider pattern of sectarianism, Islamist practices" in Tower Hamlets in recent years.

Organised by the East London Mosque Trust, the event was supported by forty other charities and the local Tower Hamlets Council, alongside Mayor Lufter Rahman, who was previously banned for five years from public office after being found guilty of election fraud.

In a letter to the commission, three Conservative Shadow Cabinet Ministers, Kevin Hollinrake, Mims Davies and Claire Coutinho said: "The banning of women and older girls is direct sex and age discrimination. It is blatant segregation, and marginalisation of women by men."

The event, which was held on public land, and not within a place of worship, does not have a lawful exception under charities or equalities law, the letter argues.

"This was a public event, on public property. It was not within the confines of a place of worship, nor in the context of an educational establishment. There was no parallel event for women," it said.

The trio of MPs said they believed the event had breached charity commission guidance by prohibiting women from taking part, saying that : "Such segregation would appear to be contrary to the Charity Commission's guidance and the tests of tackling disadvantage or achievement of a legitimate aim," they wrote.

They added: "There are no grounds to believe that men (and girls under 12) face a particular disadvantage in fun runs that requires the exclusion of adult women. If anything, the exclusion of women reinforces a disadvantage that they already face through their marginalisation in some parts of East London."

They have called for an immediate investigation into whether the mosque's actions are compatible with both its charitable purposes and the law.

The letter warned that excluding women from public events risked worsening community division, adding: "This matter raises a significant public interest in relation to integration and community cohesion, and to the wider marginalisation of women in the public sphere."

The Commission was urged to assess whether the exclusion of women was consistent with the charity's stated purpose of providing a public benefit.

The letter concluded: "We would be grateful if you could initiate an investigation into whether you think such a public event is compatible with charity law and the stated purposes of this charity."

Lufter Rahman said they he had contacted to Mosque "to seek urgent clarification", and echoed the organisers claim that women's races had not been held due to "low take up".

Kevin Hollinrake said that it was "unbelievable" the event banned women, describing the move as "medieval and deeply backwards". He added that "The Charity Commission must urgently investigate this event and, if necessary, take appropriate action."

The Mosques CEO, Juniad Ahmed, and its Head of Programmes, Sufia Alam said womens races had not been held "because there was low take up" and that "some women in our community say they prefer to have a separate event to having races at the same event"

They added: "Going forward we will ensure there are women's races as well as men's races, and we will work to increase women's participation."