Masjid Maryam scrapped Mohamed Hoblos’s visit after community concerns over his views arose.
Ben Houchen and Andy Preston spoke out, asking the Home Office to intervene because they did not want Hoblos to speak at the newly opened mosque on Green Lane.
Houchen believes Hoblos hurts community unity, and he sent a letter to the Home Office stating that Hoblos faces bans in other countries like Germany and the Netherlands due to cited extremist views.
Preston shared similar thoughts online, urging the government to stop Hoblos and prevent him from entering the UK because he thinks Hoblos promotes unpopular ideas.
Masjid Maryam reacted to this debate by confirming Hoblos won’t attend, and they deleted him from event ads too.
The mosque posted a statement on Facebook acknowledging community worries and noted their desire to consider all feelings, so the event goes on without Hoblos on February 23rd.