THE bitter row over control of a troubled Leyton mosque continues after an injunction was taken out against the body contracted to oversee election of a new committee.
The Lea Bridge Road mosque, which is run by the Waltham Forest Islamic Association (WFIA), has been at the centre of a power struggle between two rival groups since 2006.
Four members of the WFIA committee standing for re-election took out the injunction against the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) as they believe it failed to fulfil its contractual obligations.
An election was held on August 16 and early results suggested the group opposing the previous committee had won.
But those standing for re-election claim the election was “unfair” as they say not everyone who registered to vote received a postal invitation to the election.
Tariq Mahmood, who represents the opposition group, said: “It's not quite back to square one but it's a step backwards.
“They're saying that the new committee wasn't properly elected.”
A handover ceremony was due to take place on August 20 but was cancelled at the last minute after the injunction was taken out.
Mr Mahmood added that he hopes it will be overturned within the next few days.
He said: “I'm very hopeful that everything will be resolved. This is a hindrance to progress in our community.”
Both sides have made allegations of violence against one another and matters came to a head earlier this year with protests held outside the mosque.
Members of the opposition have repeatedly claimed the previous committee failed to hold elections or an AGM, an accusation which has been strongly denied.
An election was due to take place in July after months of mediation through Waltham Forest police but was cancelled after it was discovered women could not vote.
It was then rescheduled for August 16 and saw members of the mosque queuing for hours to cast their votes.
The previous committee has said it will not yet issue a statement, but a spokesman for the group has already branded the election a “sham”.
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