The Observer Whitechapel Mosque, a Wednesday night in February. The children, fresh from school, quickly unpack their copies of the Koran and begin the recital. After a while, the slow, steady murmur of classical Arabic fills the room. The children, all boys, are arranged into four groups, divided according to their ability to recite the Koran. Girls are segregated into their own classes - The Observer is not allowed access to their tuition.
Teachers oversee the progress of each group, correcting mistakes in pronunciation.
And the boys sit with their heads bowed in deference to the advice of the scholars. The outside of the mosque is bland, light brick. Inside is revealed an architectural work of considerable beauty. Inside is gathered a younger, increasingly orthodox generation of young British Muslims rarely identified before. What's more, in recent years, militant Islam has begun to emerge on British campuses.