Lord Hermer praised a mosque where a preacher urged Muslims to spit on Israel, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Attorney General said he found the work of the Abdullah Quilliam Society “inspiring”, less than a year after it was named in a list of Islamic charities accused of harbouring “hateful rhetoric”.
The controversy stemmed from a talk at the mosque by Haroon Hanif, an Islamic scholar, roughly two weeks after the Oct 7 massacre in 2023. The nature of his affiliation with the mosque, if any, is unknown.
In the sermon, livestreamed on social media, Mr Hanif told worshippers that Muslims should “continue waging your war for Allah and his messenger, don’t back down”.
He added: “We’re large in numbers right now, two billion. If the two billion just marched on Israel it’s all over, if you spat in the direction of Israel, two billion, it’s all over.”
He also said “any Muslim who thinks the Palestinians are terrorists... you need to question your imam” and “no British Army can overpower you”.
‘Fanning the flames of division’
The comments prompted campaigners to refer the mosque, along with seven other Islamic charities, to the Charity Commission.
In an open letter, they accused the organisations of breaching charity guidelines, which state that trustees should be alert to the dangers of “extremist ideology” or “extremist views”.
Among the signatories were Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, Maryam Namazie, from the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, Lord Young, a free-speech campaigner, and Prof Richard Dawkins.
At the time, Megan Manson, the head of campaigns at the National Secular Society, which also signed the letter, said: “The Charity Commission must take these concerns seriously.
“The Israel-Hamas war has caused serious tension between different communities around the world, including in the UK. The hateful rhetoric churned out by these charities is fanning the flames of division when we most need to promote cohesion and tolerance.”
In response to the referral, Stephen Roake, the Charity Commission’s head of compliance visits and inspections, said: “The commission acknowledges the concerns that you have raised about the charities.
“I can confirm that we are currently assessing all of the information available to us, in order to determine what regulatory action, if any, may be required for each of the charities identified.”
It is understood that the watchdog’s assessment is ongoing.
Lord Hermer went on to visit the Abdullah Quilliam Society in August 2024, where he discussed ways to keep the Muslim community safe in the wake of the riots triggered by the Southport killings.