A proposal for a controversial £100 million mosque next to the Olympic Village will be decided by an unelected quango.

A decision on whether it gets the go-ahead will rest not with Newham's elected councillors but with the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.

Plans by the Muslim sect Tablighi Jamaat to build the mosque have aroused concern as the group has been accused of drawing young men towards an extremist version of Islam.

Although no formal planning application has yet been made, the proposal has stirred up substantial argument.

The public will be consulted - as with other planning applications - but if the corporation approves the proposal there will be no right of appeal. However, if the quango rejects the scheme Tablighi Jamaat can appeal to the Government.
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, director of the institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, said: "The corporation has already said that the new mosque will make West Ham a 'cultural and religious destination'
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