In the light of recent terrorist atrocities Muslims have spoken out exclusively to the Observer about how they are fighting to rid extremists from their midst.

Members of the Jamia Masjid mosque, pictured, spoke out about how they are helping challenge extremism.

Seeking to challenge narratives surrounding Islam, the trustees and imams spoke about the Government’s response to terror, the power of the media, and their own work to keep extremism out of our community.

Mosque trustee Mohammed Ayub, 75, said: “This is our home, nobody here wants to dismantle our own home, for that would be our own loss – we want to educate people.

“All our guest preachers are checked properly – we check to see if they have ever been banned from anywhere, if there have ever been any problems with them – only then do we let them in.”

“I’m a member of the police committee, and if we did have any problems, or saw anything, we would report it.

“The police come to meet with us often, and have always been very helpful to us.”

Mr Ayub told of a case over two decades ago, in which radical individuals attempted to gain power within the mosque and were promptly thrown out.

“When these troublemakers came, the community got fed up with them and expelled them quickly. The police did not do anything, as they said they had freedom of speech.”

Fellow trustee, Latif Khan, 76, said that he regularly attends meetings with the local chapter of the Government’s anti-terror Prevent organisation.

Imam Dr Osman Latiff, 35, said: “I visited Auschwitz recently, and spoke about the suffering of the Jews. We don’t discriminate here, we respect the sanctity of life.

“I try and empower people, channel their energy into something productive.

“Who the media gives attention to is very important; many news stories feed into Muslims as others, outsiders, and feed into hate.When you stereotype Muslims, that’s when someone becomes a victim of the far-right.

“This mosque can’t reverse that entire narrative, but we can try and challenge the narratives in people’s heads.”

The trustees spoke about the various charitable works the organisation had been involved in.

Imam Abdul Jabbar, 46, said: “We try and help the community – we feed the homeless every Friday, after prayers. There are 20 to 30 people every week. Christians, Polish, all sorts of different people. After the Grenfell fire, we met with 17 families that had been affected, distributing over £9,000 in cash to them.”

Dr Latiff added: “We’ve had problems - there were two young people who took shelter here recently after being chased by some white boys. When we go outside, sometimes people driving by will point and shout ‘Paki’.

“But I preach to people – be patient, be thankful, be helpful. Humanity is everything. We all come from Adam and Eve, and must respect everyone.”