A long standing row over the running of an Islamic organisation has been settled by a top judge.

The High Court settled the dispute between two factions of the Wycombe Islamic Mission and Mosque Trust Ltd which were at loggerheads over how it should be run.

His Honor Judge David Cooke ruled in favour of the Seva group, which argued a constitution drawn up by the mosque in 2001 to enable members to elect a management committee was legally binding and should be enforced.

The Thara group had originally agreed to the constitution - but boycotted the second round of elections in 2003 and rejected the constitution after Thara members were defeated in 2001’s inaugural elections.

The Thara faction wanted the organisation’s management committee to hand pick committee members and register the trust with the Charity Commission.

The acrimonious dispute has rumbled on ever since – with police even called in to break up a brawl at the mosque and numerous deals to solve the matter rejected by at least one party.

But The High Court ruling means the agreed constitution in 2001 stands, with elections for the new regime set to be held on July 24.

Both sides of the conflict are now calling for the matter to be consigned to the past to enable the organisation and High Wycombe’s Muslim community to move forward.

Shafait Ali from the Seva group said: “We’re very pleased with The High Court and this difficult episode is now at an end.

“The court accepted our argument that an arbitrator had no authority to impose the trust deed on the community.

“We always wanted a democratic system where members of the mosque can decide who should be in the management committee.

“The dispute has cost the Muslim committee a lot of money but we’re hoping that everyone will now forget the past and start looking at the future by working together to build the mosque’s reputation.”

Zafar Iqbal, current chairman of the mission, said the Thara group was disappointed but accepted the court’s decision, and echoed Mr Ali’s sentiment.

He said: “We felt the management committee should select people with knowledge and experience within the community to build an understanding with other faith groups and take us forward.

“But the elections can be positive in terms of boosting membership and it also gives the members the power, which is a good thing.

“We’ve done lots of good work and I hope in the future that will get better and we can move forward together as one community.”