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Mosque Burnham visited held funeral for terrorist Munir Farooqi; Philp wants apology

Manchester Central Mosque, which Andy Burnham visited in February as mayor, held a funeral on 30 September for Munir Farooqi, a Taliban fighter jailed for terror offences. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Prime Minister must apologise if he attended the mosque.

2 outlets · 0L · 0C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: Daily Mail
Image: Daily Express

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The story, neutrally told

Right · 2Manchester Central Mosque held a janazah (Muslim funeral) on 30 September for Munir Farooqi, who died in prison at the end of September aged 69. Right · 2Farooqi, who fought for the Taliban after the September 11 attacks and then returned to Manchester, was given four life sentences in 2011 for preparing terrorist acts, soliciting murder and disseminating terror literature. Right · 2The Daily Mail and Daily Express say he ran a recruitment centre in Manchester meant to persuade British extremists to "fight, kill and die" in Afghanistan.

Right · 2Footage seen by the Mail reportedly shows more than 100 people at the funeral. According to the Islamist news outlet 5Pillars, his family still considers him a martyr who died doing what he loved. Right · 2Andy Burnham, then Mayor of Greater Manchester and now Prime Minister, visited the mosque in February and shared an Iftar meal with worshippers. He was joined by Labour MPs Debbie Abrahams and Afzal Khan and by Bev Craig, now Greater Manchester mayor. Right · 2The visit came shortly after a security incident in which two men allegedly entered the mosque with weapons including an axe, a hammer and a knife. The Mail reports both were arrested, one was charged with possession of an offensive weapon and class B drugs, and the other faced no further action.

Right · 2At the time Burnham praised the mosque's "togetherness". He said there was no room for "the politics of division" in Greater Manchester and that people should never fear attending their place of worship. Right · 2Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the Prime Minister "must apologise if it is true he attended" a mosque that held such a funeral. He said Islamist extremism is the biggest threat facing society and that the Labour Government lacks "the backbone to confront this reality". Right · 2Downing Street and the mosque were approached for comment. The Express says No 10 declined to comment, and neither outlet reports a response from the mosque.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right2 outlets

Framing
Both papers lead on the link between Burnham's earlier praise of the mosque and the terrorist's funeral, and present it as a political embarrassment for the Prime Minister.
Emphasis
Farooqi's Taliban past and recruitment activity, the family's 'martyr' description, and Philp's criticism of Labour.
Leaves out or plays down
No response from the mosque or Downing Street. No evidence that Burnham knew of Farooqi or had any link to the funeral. The Express omits the Mail's detail on the arrests and charges after the February incident.
Charged language
“disgracefully”“pander”“backbone”“intense political backlash”“martyr”
For example
“Mosque praised by Andy Burnham just held terrorist's funeral” — Daily Mail
“The revelations have sparked intense political backlash.” — Daily Express