Conclusions

Abstract

In 2015, a final decision will be made as to whether Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) could build its proposed mosque and, if so, what shape and size this should take. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will make the decision. For the first time, this places the British government at the center of the dispute. The decision will go beyond the specifics of the so-called Mega Mosque and will draw on questions relating to citizenship, identity, and integration in modern Britain. For example, what sorts of groups should be allowed to build places of religious worship in Britain? Should those places of worship be solely for the use of a specific religious community, or should they be of benefit to the wider public? The decision will also highlight how a liberal democracy balances between the religious needs of a given community and concerns over the illiberal nature of that community. With an election looming in Britain in 2015, and given the contentious nature of the project, the decision is likely to spark as much controversy as the mosque itself.