22. The Chief Imam of a large mosque has ultimate responsibility for the content, vision and the tone of the religious practice and instruction based at the mosque, in conjunction with other Imams at the mosque and the mosque management committee and/or board of trustees. The influence and teaching of the Chief Imam would normally be promulgated and amplified through a significant online presence. This was the case with LIC who have a live website which was regularly updated (www.lewishamislamiccentre.com). 23. There can be no doubt that the Chief Imam of a major mosque such as LIC has an extremely important role. He is somebody that the congregation and attendees at the mosque will respect and look to for guidance on spiritual matters and how to live their lives as good Muslims. Inevitably, therefore, he can be a powerful influence on many people who come into his orbit, particularly the young. CLAIMANT’S POSITIVE CASE 24. The burden is firmly on the defendant to prove justification in defamation, i.e. the BBC in this case. The Claimant, nevertheless, puts forward a positive case, both in order to challenge the BBC’s case that his 2006 – 2011 speeches were ‘extremist’ and also to give ‘a full picture of himself’. 25. The Claimant pleads a positive case that he is “a proponent of tolerance, peace, nonviolence, understanding between the faiths, cooperation with the police… and the participation of Muslims in civil society”. In his witness statement, he repeatedly emphasises his opposition to extremism and terrorism and is at pains to stress, in particular, (i) the importance of Islam's relationships with other faiths (paragraph 18), (ii) the importance of Muslim collaboration with the UK Government to combat violent extremism (paragraph 53); and (iii) the essential ‘unity’ of mankind (paragraph 57). Claimant’s inter-faith and community work 26. The Claimant points to an impressive portfolio of inter-faith work and work in the local community, particularly with young people, in which he has been, and is currently, involved. The following summary helps gives a full picture of the wide range of his activities and work in the local community. 27. First, the Claimant organises and conducts interfaith workshops at LIC. These have included for e.g. (i) holding an ‘Appreciation Dinner’ on 26 th September 2013 for local leaders who had supported the banning of a BNP march, (ii) holding a ‘Listening Exercise’ on 12th January 2014 on current issues, (iii) holding a ‘Food and Faith’ Fair on 18th April 2014 to which faith communities were invited, (iv) holding an ‘Accountability Assembly’ in 12th May 2014 which the Claimant chaired for the two mayoral candidates who spoke to a mixed audience of some 400 people, and (v) inviting an openly gay vicar, the Rev. Richard Coles, to speak to the LIC in March 2015. 28. Second, he works closely with the LIC Young Muslim Academy in meeting the social and educational needs of young people. He helped set up LIC’s Football Club, which includes non-Muslim players and fans. He participates in, and promotes, the annual Lewisham inter-faith cricket match. In 2014, the LIC organised a team to play a team comprised of two local churches and members of Lewisham’s Jewish community. 6