Entertainment
Fight breaks out at one of UK’s biggest mosques
LONDON: The Charity Commission is investigating claims of misuse of more than £1m and corruption at one of the UK’s biggest mosques — Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre in West London.
A viral video footage shows worshippers and the mosque management — who are mostly Pakistanis — getting into a brawl inside the mosque — amid accusations of harassment, abuse, intimidation, shoving, punching, and violence.
The dispute started — published in mainstream UK papers — after the former friends and trustees of the mosques fell out with each other and started blaming each other.
Police and an ambulance were called to the scene, the Sun reported.
A trustee of the mosque has resigned his position after 20 years of service — including 10 years as chairman — and a councillor has reported five alleged attacks on his home and car to cops, and begged the council and Labour bigwigs to step in.
In his resignation letter from the mosque, Abdul Majid told how when he ran the Hounslow Jamia Masjid, the bank balance was consistently between £400,000 to £500,000 in credit.
Abdul Majid stated: “Unfortunately, the current financial state of the mosque is a cause for great concern, with the account balance now very low. This, among other matters, has compelled me to conclude that I can no longer continue in this role in good conscience.”
Around £300,000 of charitable donations collected each year at the mosque “do not appear in any official accounts or bank records”. Large collections for the Gaza crisis are “unaccounted for”, he has alleged.
Majid referred to documents in which the firm BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions filed a claim for £150,000 against the mosque’s 11 trustees in a row over a 12-year lease of photocopiers. An out-of-court settlement — “without full board approval or proper discussion” — means the mosque is paying the company £5,000 per month until August 2027.
A lucrative security contract went to a close associate of the mosque’s senior leadership team. Relatives were awarded the contract to supply groceries and meat to the mosque. A series of contracts have been reported without a transparent bidding process, the Charity Commission was told.
It has been suggested that “unqualified” individuals have been appointed to key financial positions. There is a major problem surrounding “familial relationships”, the Charity Commission was told.
The councillor also reached out to Dan Bowring, chair of the Brentford and Isleworth Constituency Labour Party. He called for a formal Labour Party probe into the “conduct of certain individuals within our party who are misusing their official positions and community influence to incite hostility and endanger the safety of elected members.”
The mosque is frequented by up to 4,000 Muslims a day.
A source at the mosque said about the leaked fight footage that some worshippers were banned from the premises after leaders accused them of causing “breach of the peace and public disorder”.
One of the people also banned from the mosque was the councillor. Those expelled were told that returning to the mosque would be viewed as “trespass” and tensions are still understood to be “heightened”.
The Charity Commission, responsible for ensuring the governance, management, and administration of a charity is fit for purpose, said in a statement: “We have opened a regulatory compliance case into Hounslow Jamia Masjid and Islamic Centre to assess concerns regarding the charity’s governance.”
A source at the mosque said: “It’s all about personal animosity. There is no truth to the allegations. The people involved in the dispute used to be best of friends, had joint business and social matters. They fell out and have taken their personal issues to the mosque, making it a big issue. The allegations are baseless and frivolous.”
The mosque source said that they will set out their position very soon and bring facts before the public and the worshippers. He said every allegation of financial corruption is false.
Luke Grimes has been playing cowboy Kayce Dutton on Yellowstone since 2018, but some fans are still coming to terms with a fundamental truth: he is an actor, not an actual cowboy.
The 42-year-old, who now continues the character’s story in the CBS spinoff Marshals, told Toronto radio station CHUM 104.5 that the strangest fan encounters often involve a version of the same realisation.
Some viewers, he said, “loved that show so much that they were, on a certain level, upset that it wasn’t real.”
The most common version of this comes in the form of a complaint. “A lot of times you’ll get the, ‘You’re not a real cowboy.'”
His response is straightforward.
“Well, of course I’m not, I’m an actor. That’s why I’m able to do this. If I was a real cowboy, I’d be, like, herding cattle right now. I wouldn’t be on this show.”
Even his one-year-old son, whom he shares with wife Bianca Rodrigues Grimes, has his own take on the cowboy persona.
“My son thinks my cowboy hat is really funny,” Grimes told PEOPLE at the Marshals LA premiere.
“He doesn’t understand why I have that big thing on my head.” That said, the baby loves visiting the set and got excited when he was brought along.
New episodes of Marshals air Sundays at 8pm ET on CBS.
The Italian government has slammed a proposal by a U.S. government official to replace the Iranian team with Italy in the FIFA World Cup 2026. The Italian football team was not able to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive tournament, despite being a four-time champion.
Iran’s participation in the mega event is in serious doubt amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel war against Iran. All the group matches of the Persian team are scheduled to take place in the United States.
Iranian officials have requested FIFA to reschedule Iranian matches in Canada or Mexico, the co-hosts for 2026 sporting showpiece.
The Iranian Ministry of Sports and Youth has clarified that all the necessary arrangements have already been made for the team’s effective participation in the tournament.
Despite the assurance, Paolo Zampolli, a U.S. envoy for global relations, presented the idea to replace Iran with Italy, saying, “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi rejected the proposal, saying, “You qualify on the pitch.” Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti also rebuked the suggestion, describing it as “shameful.”
Italian Olympic Committee President Luciano Buonfiglio was the third high-ranking official to say no to the idea, adding, “It’s not possible. In order to go to the World Cup, you have to earn it.”
FIFA responded by reiterating the Infantino’s statement, “The Iranian team is coming here, for sure.”
At least 10 people have been hurt in a horrific shooting incident at the Mall of Louisiana. According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, two of the injured are in critical condition.
Police Chief TJ Morse has ruled out any threat to public at this time; however, the shooter remains at large. He added that the incident was not a random act of violence.
Morse said: “Unfortunately there was some innocent people in the area that might have also caught some rounds.”
The initial investigation reveals that an argument between two groups of people sitting inside the food court escalated to the point that opened fire at each other.
Arounf six victims were taken to the hospital by emergency services while the others went for medical aid by personal vehicle. Some of the injured were undergoing surgery.
Officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were also present at the scene.
East Baton Rogue Mayor-President Sid Edwards was also present on the scene. He updated that all the civilians were excorted out of the building. He requested public to “keep the victims and their families in your prayers.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also released a statement, saying, “I am aware of the active shooter schene at the Mall of Louisiana.” He urged public to avoid the area, adding, “Sharon and I are praying for those affected.”
He also praised the law officials for their quick response to the incident.
The incident comes just hours after the police arrested a man on his way to Louisiana allegedly with the intent to carry out a mass shooting at a festival in New Orleans.
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