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Underground > Switchboard >

Raid on Finsbury Park

Less searchable M0rd4nt

21:42 / 09.12.05

Crossposted from the "Untamed hate and anger" thread, I bring you this snippet from a friend's blog. I've excised his name and any personal details because he's understandably reluctant to be identified.

A few days ago, 300 police officers showed up on my doorstep.
They sealed off all of Finsbury Park. They raided every shop on the street.
They rounded up all the muslims. All the white folk were searched and allowed to leave.
They detained folk till 5am next day (raid went down in the afternoon).

They found nothing.
They came back next day to apologise to the mosque, who informed them that the persons to apologise to were the folks whom they had cuffed, faceplanted, interrogated and let go.
My friends had bootprints on their backs.

(did anyone hear it on the news? it did happen! [Name of another friend] saw it all, and he's white so it MUST be true!!)

I was wondering if anyone had information regarding this incident. It sounds very serious indeed and yet I can't find anything about it. Very disturbing, no?

11:15 / 10.12.05

Is this a "friend of friend told me" deal? Wary.

I've had a quick shufty online and can't find anything on this scale involving Finsbury. Mainly raids on the area's mosque and such.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

11:21 / 10.12.05

Well, Tango-Mango (who works in Finsbury Park) said that there were a shitload of riot squad out there on the day in question, so something was going down...

Less searchable M0rd4nt

11:55 / 10.12.05

Yes, like I said in my first post, the quote above is from a friend's blog and I haven't been able to find anything about the incident via news sources. However, one or two other aquaintances corroborated this so I thought it was worth mentioning.

18:43 / 10.12.05

Is this the same mosque that they found weapons at two years ago?

Phex: Dorset Doom

21:40 / 10.12.05

Like Ms. Triplets, I'm inclined to call shennanigans on this until I see some further proof. In this day and age a secret raid with maybe a thousand people involved on both sides wouldn't stay out of the press, even if the official secrets act was involved, because as the Bush/Al-Jazeera incident showed, the OSA is hardly bulletproof. Sorry, but I'm just not buying this.
Plus, if this is a rumor, then who started it? Who benefits?

Mon Oncle Ignatius

22:23 / 10.12.05

There was definitely something going on at the Seven Sisters Road end of Blackstock Road (which is near but not directly next to the mosque), enough for the bus home to be diverted all the way to Manor House and for the streets all around to be more than usually congested.

What it looked like to me from the bus was several riot vans with suited-up police in and around them, the road taped off while the police were going into one of he many Arab-owned shops/restaurants on the street. What they were doing was not immediately apparent, but it certainly had the air of a raid rather than an incident, and my first thought was that somewhere was getting busted.

It took a lot longer get home than usual in the way that usually only happens when there is a shooting (or for that matter a burst water main) somewhere on the bus route or nearby, suggesting that the street was closed off for a while for a fairly sizeable operation. Other than that I saw nothing in the news nor heard anything from anyone else affected by whatever was going on, apart from this thread and the one it came from.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

14:39 / 13.12.05

Well, I couldn't find anything on NewsUk, the BBC and even an Islamaphobe like Melanie Phillips, who uses a Muslim dropping a pin as proof of a plot to murder us all in our beds, doesn't mention it. There was this, but it was in Docklands.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

15:04 / 13.12.05

Looks like it might have been this:

More than 200 officers have raided businesses in north London as part of a crackdown on stolen mobile phones.

Three cafes and a shop in Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, were searched...

Slim: Yes, it is the same mosque. In 2003 a veritable arsenal of weapons was uncovered*, the mosque having been taken over by extremists. However, following a full investigation, a raid and several arrests, the mosque was returned to mainstream Muslim hands. It now runs courses which are apparently open to all, and has enjoyed a dramatic increase in attendance. Wikipedia has more info.

*Rather to my alarm, because I lived round the corner for 4 years and used to walk past it every day. The raid was after my time, though.

18:56 / 13.12.05

I think it could easily be a raid that was downplayed to the press. Mobile phone thieves my arse. I used to live round there (St Annes Rd off Green Lanes to be precise) and there was often worry among local muslims that the Finsbury Park mosque problems would draw racist attacks and persecution from the old bill.
Seems the most likely explanation to me is that it's a true story.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

20:07 / 13.12.05

I'm sorry, but unless the Government is suddenly giving out D-notices like candy then The Sun and the Daily Mail would have been first on the scene if there was a raid on the Mosque, especially considering the former's campaign against 'Captain Hook' who used to (still does?) preach outside. I don't believe it could have been hushed up.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

21:53 / 13.12.05

I agree, Lady, but this most recent incident did not involve a raid on the mosque. The businesses which were raided were in the vicinity and the police delivered their apology to the mosque, but the mosque itself was not raided.