HARROW Central Mosque has denied having plans for a Sharia court ahead of a demonstration by far-right protest groups.

The English Defence League (EDL) claims plans for the mosque's new building include an Islamic court where low level disputes would be settled by Islamic law.

The group, along with far-right Casuals United, intend to protest outside the site, in Station Road, on Saturday, August 29.

Ghulam Rabbani, general secretary of Harrow Central Mosque, said: “It is important to make clear that there are no plans to hold Sharia court meetings at the new mosque.

“We have never considered any such plans and it is a matter of public record from our planning applications. We are confused as to why the protestors ever thought this was the case.

“The new mosque is a building which will be open to all and has been welcomed by other faith communities and we reject attempts to divide us.

“We are proud to be British, Muslim and Harrow residents, and we embrace all three of these identities.”

Harrow Council is meeting community leaders at the mosque on Friday to discuss the issue and is also working with the police to plan for the event.

Councillor Susan Hall, responsible for environment and community safety, said: “While we respect the right for people to demonstrate, our other clear duty is to ensure that Harrow residents are allowed to go about their business without interruption.

“Our clear message is that Harrow is a place where people want to get on together and do not welcome disruptive voices from the extremes of either religion or politics."

A protest by the EDL in Birmingham on August 10 resulted in violent clashes between members and anti-fascist campaigners attempting to break up the demonstration.

Police in full riot gear were deployed to control the situation and a number of arrests were made.

Bill Baker, one of the organisers of the Harrow protest last week told the Harrow Times ties with the EDL and Casuals United were broken after the skirmishes in Birmingham.

But the two groups are part of British Defence Leagues, a coalition of right wing groups, which is advertising the event on its website.

The EDL website says the mosque protest will be “hosted” by a group called British Citizens Against Militant Islam, and expresses its support.

Casuals United is a group for football supporters and is divided into branches based on individual clubs, with representation among QPR and Arsenal fans in London.

Mr Baker said marshalls would be escorting protesters to the mosque from Harrow and Wealdstone station and would be on the look-out for trouble-makers.