Introduction

Abstract

On July 6, 2005, Great Britain won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Crowds thronged the streets of London waving flags, with official parties held in East London’s Stratford and centrally in Trafalgar Square. The mood in the capital was one of jubilation and triumph. The very next day, on the morning of July 7, four bombs were detonated on London’s public transport system. The bombings injured several hundred people and killed 52. The celebrations were cut short; the context in Britain transformed overnight. Islamic extremists were tied to the bombings, and the religion of the bombers, Islam, was securitized. Muslim communities were viewed with suspicion. For some, this was indication that Britain’s favored policy of multiculturalism failed, and that in its place the emphasis should be on community cohesion. This new context would have particular ramifications for Tablighi Jamaat (TJ)—a nonengaging, Islamic, theocratic, and missionary movement wanting to build Britain’s largest mosque in the East end of London, and only a short distance from the then planned Olympics Stadium.