[2] It was described in 2010 by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) as "a non-governmental umbrella group that represents over 40 Muslim organisations in the UK".
[3] The MSF has been described by Shiraz Maher in The Jewish Chronicle as "an extremist group dominated by Islamists who support Hamas".
[2] From 2001 until 2011, the MSF held regular meetings between senior police officers and representatives of Islamic institutions and Muslim community organisations.
[5] It was one of a number of Metropolitan Police measures introduced following the September 11 attacks as one of many efforts by the service to engage in dialogue with the British Muslim community to tackle Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crimes.
[1] Ali left the post of chairman in 2008, then, having been appointed the MSF treasurer,[1] resigned from MSF in 2009 after publicity over his appraisal of Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, mentor of Osama bin Laden, and approval on his blog of Azzam's son saying that as a Muslim he is religiously obliged to kill British soldiers in Iraq.