GETTY Magdi Allam said mosques should be shut down

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Magdi Allam said European governments need to move far beyond deportations and target terror at its source in order to prevent more terror attacks. The Egyptian-born politician, who converted from Islam to Christianity in 2008, said it was time to stop following the myth of “moderate Islam” and take some real action. He spoke before attending a protest march against the construction of a new mosque in Pisa, highlighting the tough treatment of mosques by the Tunisian government after last year’s deadly beach attack.

Mr Allam said: “When last year in Sousse, a Tunisian Islamic Isis terrorist massacred 45 tourists who were sunbathing on the beach, the Tunisian government ordered the closure of 80 mosques calling them ‘terrorist hideouts’.

FACEBOOK Magdi Allam converted from Islam to Christianity in 2008

“If the Muslim governments warn that mosques are ‘dens of terrorism’, we can not behave more Islamic than the Islamists, granting blindly the mosques to the Islamic militants.” Mr Allam converted from to Christianity eight years ago and has been a vocal critic of Islam ever since. He said: “It is time for our government to stop chasing the chimera of sponsoring mosques of a ‘moderate Islam.’ “The truth is that there is only one Islam because there is only one Koran and one Muhammad.” He dismissed claims deporting terrorists reduced terror, stating the mosques would just produce replacements.

GETTY Magdi Allam said mosques were 'terrorist dens'

Mr Allam said: “It is an illusion, such as administering a painkiller to a cancer patient to deal with the pain and without addressing the root of the disease. “If we scratch the tip of the iceberg without undermining the iceberg, it will not save us from catastrophe. In this case, the iceberg is a "terror factory that starts from the hate preaching in mosques and sites where the Islamic holy war is promoted, the practice of brainwashing which transforms the faithful into robots of death, leads to enlistment and training to arms, and culminates in a terror attack.” Finally, he criticised the raising of the country’s terror level while keeping borders open, arguing doing so increased the risk of a deadly attack more than anything else.

GETTY Magdi Allam said mosques shut be shut to prevent extremism