Two fathers dressed as Spiderman are on the roof of Streatham Mosque protesting their parental rights today.
Under the banner ‘Pray for Jihadi daddies’ Abdul Sattar, from Norwood, has been joined by veteran activist Martin Matthews for a ‘Stop The War on Dads’ protest.
Formerly Fathers for Justice, the men say they want to highlight the lack of support Abdul has received from mosque leaders.
SWL spoke to Mr Matthews as he remained on the roof this afternoon, he defended the controversial slogan on their banner but admitted he had removed the banner in time for prayers at the request of the congregation.
“Jihadi simply means struggle in Arabic, this protest is not about religion but fathers denied access to their children by the Government and the courts, including those in refugee camps,” he said.
“We’re protesting here because it’s unusual, I’m just here to support Abdul.
“I’m here supporting dads, they can be extremely angry when they have their children removed, they take out their anger on social workers, police and judges – it’s better to express ourselves in this way.
“We’ve had a lot of support, a few frowns from people going into the mosque but the kids have been smiling up at us.”
Mr Matthews said that although the police had asked them to come down from the building they were on good terms with attending officers.
He also said they had been passed up a box of chicken for lunch and that the pair were taking precautions to avoid damaging the building.
A Stop the war on Dads spokesman said this issue ‘affects all communities across multicultural Britain and we welcome those from the Muslim community who wish to join us’.
The group campaign against ‘secret family courts’ which they claim are biased and flawed as they don’t provide automatic access rights to biological fathers.
