A High Court has ruled that one of Blackburn’s biggest mosques must hold new elections to choose a governing body.

The Masjide Tauheedul Islam, based off Bicknell Street in Brookhouse, held elections to choose an executive committee in the summer.

The mosque is one of the oldest in Blackburn and is run separately from the schools in the town of the same name.

A legal document names five applicants who took their grievances to the High Court against 15 elected executive committee members of the mosque.

This followed an August election which a group of individuals disputed.

Following a ruling last week a legal document states, ‘the election to the Charity’s Executive Committee purportedly called by notice given on or around June 13, 2024 ('the Disputed Election'), was unlawful and the results announced on August 7, 2024, are invalid'.

It calls for a general meeting of the charity on October 27 at 7.15pm, at which ‘elections of the Executive Committee shall take place in accordance with clauses nine and 13 of the charity’s constitution'.

The ruling comes after summer when a number of incidents took place at the mosque during which an imam was suspended.

Some of these incidents were filmed and shared on social media.

A High Court document shared in August named three claimants including the imam.

The document, signed by Suhel Master,  says he was suspended by the mosque on May 16 for an alleged ‘incitement of disorder’ - claims he describes in the document as ‘fabricated’.

That document goes on to list a further number of employment claims during a position he has held at the mosque for 20 years.

The mosque said at the time it ‘does not make comments regarding its employees or members’. 

The Masjide Tauheedul Islam was approached for comment. One of the five named claimants was approached for comment.