Lutfur Rahman

Muhammad Lutfur Rahman (1965–) is the ex-mayor of Tower Hamlets in London; a former member of the Labour party, he is now independent. He is controversial due to his reported links to Islamic extremist elements.

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In March 2010 an episode of Channel 4's Dispatches series focused on Rahman's ties to the extremist Islamic Forum Europe, which helped him come to power.[1] While council leader, Rahman hired Lutfur Ali as assistant chief executive; Ali went on to fund various IFE front groups with council grants before resigning, after it turned out that he had been working in another job on council time.[2]

The following July it emerged that Rahman's solicitor, Makbool Javaid, was connected to al-Muhajiroun, a group which supports al-Qaeda. Javaid also signed a fatwa which demanded "full-scale war of jihad" against the US and UK.[3]

In September 2010, Rahman was suspended by the Labour party as its mayoral candidate for Tower Hamlets following concerns about his conduct.[4] He instead ran as an independent candidate, and succeeded in being elected mayor on 22 October 2010.[5]

He now appears to be in the process of setting up a new party called Tower Hamlets First.[6]

References
  1. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100039244/islamists-are-crushed-in-tower-hamlets/
  2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9874695/The-state-versus-the-whistleblower.html
  3. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100047498/the-fundamentalist-linked-labour-politician-and-the-extremist-solicitor/
  4. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/davehillblog/2010/sep/21/lutfur-rahman-removed-as-labour-tower-hamlets-mayoral-candidate
  5. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11604108
  6. http://trialbyjeory.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/lutfur-launches-a-political-party-and-declares-his-love-for-the-ife/
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