Trustees of a mosque in south Wales have been given a formal warning after sharing a video glorifying Hamas.
The video was posted on Facebook by the Cardiff-based Al-Manar Centre Trust in November 2023, just a month after the October 7 attacks on Israel.
The Charity Commission launched an investigation into the post, which it said “could be understood as demonstrating support” for Hamas.
The footage included an artificially generated image of a paraglider landing on the Temple Mount – which could have been perceived as a reference to the paragliders used to attack southern Israel on Oct 7 2023.
The regulator said it found misconduct and mismanagement by trustees and issued it with a formal warning, requiring it to take action on its social media use.
In the inquiry’s view, the video – which was not produced by or for the charity – contained content that presented a “positive image” of the proscribed terrorist organisation and its October 2023 attack on Israel.
Al-Manar Centre Trust, which operates a mosque in Cardiff, has objectives that include advancing Islamic education and fostering community relationships and religious harmony.
The inquiry was told that the charity’s chairman, who was the only trustee responsible for managing the charity’s social media content, posted the video after listening to its audio, believing it aligned with the charity’s objectives.
In the film, a narrator, speaking in Arabic, draws a contrast between the “Muslim fighters” in Palestine “who take justice as their slogan” and their “usurping enemies, criminals of war... Zionists, who take destruction as their slogan”.
The narrator goes on to argue that the Israel-Gaza war had been presented falsely, in which “the victim” had been confused with “the perpetrator” who is “killing prisoners and mutilating civilians”.
Failure to monitor online content
The inquiry concluded the video was likely to lead an ordinary member of the public to infer that the charity was supportive of and or glorified terrorism.
It also said that trustees, at the time the video was posted, failed to undertake adequate diligence and monitoring of online content posted by the charity.
Despite receiving regulatory advice in 2014 on protecting the charity from extremist abuse, the commission found that the trustees had failed to implement adequate social media controls.
In October last year, the regulator made an order directing the trustees to take actions on the charity’s use of its website and social media, which included a review of all material on its platforms.
Joshua Farbridge, head of compliance visits and inspections at the commission, said: “A charity’s reputation can be severely damaged in an instant through reckless use of social media.
“Our inquiry concluded that the conduct of the trustees fell below the standards expected of them.
“Inadequate controls over social media led to the sharing of harmful content, and there is no excuse for failing to properly review content before it is shared by a charity.
“Our swift intervention, which included an official warning and a legal order requiring specific action to be taken, underscores the commission’s firm commitment to ensuring charities are not misused in supporting or glorifying terrorism.”
The Al-Manar Centre Trust has been contacted for comment.