The British mosques where speakers ‘are fanning flames of hatred and division’
Speakers at British mosques are stoking hatred against Jews and Israel, a Mail investigation has found.
Records of talks to Muslim worshippers since the Hamas terrorist attack reveal alarming anti-Semitic rhetoric being preached by some.
Our revelations have provoked calls from Jewish organisations for a police investigation and prosecution of ‘anyone who has broken the law’.
Last night, the Campaign Against Antisemitism told the Mail that it would be referring the incidents to the Charity Commission and, where relevant, the police.
And the Community Security Trust, which is responsible for security for the Jewish community, said the comments were ‘playing with fire’.
A general view of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the first Qibla of Muslims, and Haram al-Sharif complex, in Old City of Jerusalem
The sermons we monitored were at mosques in London, Bradford, Leeds and Manchester. Recordings of sermons were translated from Arabic, where necessary, by an independent company.
At Lewisham Islamic Centre, chief imam Shakeel Begg, 44, told his followers on the Friday after the attack: ‘Grant victory to the people of Palestine, the people of Gaza, support them over their enemy, your enemy. Punish the oppressors [Israel]… destroy them and tear them apart.’
Mr Begg, a prominent UK Muslim who unsuccessfully launched a libel case against the BBC for calling him an extremist, added that the West and Israel were ‘smearing’ Muslims by saying that they had killed ‘innocent children’ in Israel.
‘We know that’s a lie,’ he told worshippers. He went on to slam pro-Israeli celebrities, naming Justin Bieber, Kylie Jenner and Floyd Mayweather, as ‘sick’ people.
At other mosques, the Mail found that there had been alarming rhetoric, with Jewish people called ‘filth’ and ‘usurpers’ since the October 7 massacre.
A preacher at the Islam Bradford Centre on the same Friday prayed for the purification of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem – a revered centrepiece of the Islamic world – against the ‘filth of the Jews.’
The Mail also has a record of a Friday service at the London borough of Redbridge’s Islamic Centre during which an un-named speaker told the congregation in Arabic: ‘Curse the Jews and the children of Israel. Curse the infidels [a term that includes Christians and all non-Muslims]… tear them apart and destroy their homes.’
He added, in a later clip, that the Al Aqsa Mosque must be kept safe from the ‘usurping’ Jews.
At Lewisham Islamic Centre, chief imam Shakeel Begg (pictured), 44, told his followers on the Friday after the attack: ‘Grant victory to the people of Palestine, the people of Gaza, support them over their enemy, your enemy’
Our footage shows Jamal Abdinasir, a speaker at the Alfurqan Islamic centre in Manchester, supporting the ‘mujahideen’ – an Arabic term for warriors engaged in jihad or holy war.
Claiming Muslims had reached ‘boiling point’, he said: ‘Grant victory to our brothers, the mujahideen, and the poor in Gaza. Oh god support them against the enemies of Islam’.
At Leeds Al-Rahma centre on Friday, October 20, Umer Muqadem, a former teacher in Saudi Arabia, criticised reporting of the Hamas-Israel conflict and said those fighting against Israel were not terrorists.
He said: ‘It is Wajib [obligatory in Islamic jurisprudence] that you help, aid, bring victory to our brothers and sisters in Palestine… prepare against your enemies [using] military power and cavalry’.
A main orator at the centre which has 12,700 TikTok followers, he said the mainstream media had innocent blood on its hands, telling the worshippers: ‘Don’t let the enemy pigeonhole you into thinking that anybody who fights back [against Israel] is a terrorist’.
The Alfurqan centre later issued a statement saying there had been no endorsement for killing any innocent people during his sermon ‘as this is grossly against Islamic principles’.
It added that allegations that the imam’s words were ‘anti-Semitic in any way’… ‘was a misunderstanding of the language used’. The imam concerned was visiting the centre and it would review policies to ensure speakers were clearer to ‘avoid any misinterpretation’.
The Redbridge Islamic Centre has announced that the October 20 talk is now under investigation, adding: ‘We have decided the member of staff in question cease his public speaking engagements, pending the outcome.’
Our footage shows Jamal Abdinasir (pictured), a speaker at the Alfurqan Islamic centre in Manchester, supporting the ‘mujahideen’ – an Arabic term for warriors engaged in jihad or holy war
The Mail approached the other mosques in this report by email, sending them the words of their speakers. But after more than 24 hours, none had responded.
Nearly a third of the UK’s 600 mosques are registered with the Charity Commission under the condition they are run for ‘public benefit’.
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘Some of the sermons… are utterly repugnant. The language used and the approval of, or calls for, violence are totally unacceptable, as are the propagation of anti-Semitic tropes.
‘We are investigating each of these incidents and will be making referrals to the Charity Commission and, where relevant, the police.
‘There must be no place for religious extremism in Britain, and that principle is even more urgent at a time of skyrocketing anti-Semitic hate crime.’
The UK’s Community Security Trust, overseeing Jewish welfare, said: ‘No matter how heightened people’s emotions about events overseas, there is no excuse for inciting hatred and division.
‘There is a massive spike in Jewish hate crime right now, and these kinds of comments are playing with fire.’
Dave Rich, CST spokesman, added: ‘We expect the police to investigate and prosecute anyone who has broken the law.’
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the voice of the UK Jewish community, said: ‘At a time when those in leadership positions should be doing all they can to make sure that violence does not spread, they appear to instead be fanning the flames of hate.’
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