Mosque Plan Sparks Backlash In London’s Jewiest Neighborhood
Golders Green residents voting in 2016. Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman October 13, 2017
An Islamic group’s plan to build a mosque in a major center of London’s Jewish community has sparked outrage among Jewish residents — and outrage over the outrage — the Jewish Chronicle reported. The backlash began after a former concert venue in the Golders Green neighborhood was bought by the Center for Islamic Enlightening.
A petition against the mosque plan has garnered 4,000 signatures. Most of the complaints refer to concerns about noise and added foot traffic in the area around the mosque.
But a vocal minority are concerned that the mosque will lead to Jewish-Islamic tension.
A prominent local rabbi has attempted to quell concerns over the mosque by comparing the situation to how Jewish integration into the neighborhood was opposed over 90 years ago.
“I suspect it’s the same sort of thing said about Jews moving to Golders Green in the 1920s,” Rabbi Mark Goldsmith told the JC. “Golders Green is not entirely Jewish. It’s a special place to live in and we all get along together. That’s what London is about.”
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
