Thursday 14 March, 9pm

A special Dispatches investigation into financial, physical and sexual abuse within some of Britain’s mosques.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK, with up to two million followers. But its very success has brought problems. Unlike Christianity, Islam is not a hierarchical religion – there is no system of national leadership or rules. The lack of formal structures and absence of national frameworks have caused problems. As all mosques are independent entities, abuses can take place.

One leading Muslim explains how things should work: ‘The whole idea of the mosque is a balance between the religious authority, that is the Imam [religious leader], and the administrative authority, that is the council.’ However, if the Imam assumes control of the accounts or decides to give radical speeches, there is often no official body in place to stop him.

Clerics such as Abu Hamza at Finsbury Park Mosque have caused great damage to the reputation of Muslims in Britain by advocating violence against non-Muslims. But this Imam’s first ‘victims’ were worshippers at the mosque. Taking advantage of a power vacuum, Hamza simply took physical control of Finsbury Park, leaving committee members too scared to return to their own mosque.

At another mosque in London, the Imam persuaded worshippers to raise money to buy the freehold to the mosque’s premises. The Imam himself owned the freehold. These kind of financial abuses are particularly worrying for the community as Muslims are extremely generous in their donations to mosques.

Most sinister of all are cases of sexual assault against minors. Muslim children often attend madrassas (religious seminars) or are taught by Imams in their own home. This is Britain’s biggest system of informal education. It is entirely unregulated. Trouble at the Mosque looks at three shocking cases where men have abused children they have met through their association with different mosques. In one of the cases, the man involved has been allowed to continue attending a mosque where children worship, even after his conviction.

Other Programmes in the Muslim and British Season

The Hidden Jihad

Culture Clash

Mum, I'm a Muslim

Who Speaks for Muslims?