Joe Swash was told to sling his hook from a mosque by hate preacher Abu Hamza.
The EastEnders star pretended to be a Muslim so he could bunk off school.
Joe, 39, said: “All my friends were Muslim. And I worked out that every Friday they were leaving at half 12 to go on half-day prayer.
“And I was like, ‘I’m coming with you!’
“The geezer, hook man Hamza, chucked me out of the mosque at Finsbury Park.”
Hamza – born Mustafa Kamel Mustafa in Egypt – entered the UK on a student visa in 1979 and went on to preach Islamic fundamentalist views at the Finsbury Park Mosque, in London.
Joe Swash revealed he pretended to be a Muslim to get out of school early (Image: realjoeswashy/Instagram)
He was the leader of a group which believed in a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
In February 2003, he was dismissed as the imam at the Finsbury Park Mosque, though he had been suspended 10 months earlier in April 2002.
However he continued to preach outside the mosque gates until May 2004, when he was arrested as part of US extradition proceedings against him.
Like what you see? Then fill your boots…
There’s MUCH more where that came from! Want all the jaw-dropping stories from the world of showbiz and up to the minute news from TV and soaps?
Well, we’ve got you covered with our showbiz, TV and soaps newsletters – they’ll drop straight into your inbox and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.
We’ll bring you the inside track from telly expert Ed Gleave and soap specialist Sasha Morris. Oh, and your daily fix of Piers, Katie Price, Demi Rose and all your other Daily Star favs.
You can sign up here – you won’t regret it…
Hamza used to preach at Finsbury Park Mosque in London (Image: PA)
Hamza publicly supported Osama bin Laden and said: “Allah likes those who believe in Him who kill those who do not believe in Him. Allah likes that. So if you Muslims don’t like that because you hate the blood, there is something wrong with you.”
In February 2006, Hamza was found guilty of 11 charges – six for soliciting murder under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, three related to “using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to stir up racial hatred”, one of “possession of threatening, abusive or insulting recordings of sound, with intent to stir up racial hatred” and one of “possessing a document containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”.
He was also found not guilty of four other charges of similar allegations.
Hamza was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
