Radical Muslim clerics deliver hate sermons in wake of October 7 attacks

Prayers for a victory in which Israel would be “destroyed” in order to allow Palestinians to be “liberated” were recited at the Hira Centre in Feltham, West London, a few miles from Ealing United synagogue.

And a preacher at a mosque in Birmingham said that while “our dead” were in paradise, “theirs” were in the “blazing fire” of hell, where “Allah says, every time their skin is burnt through, we will change it for another skin so that they can taste the punishment.”

Further inflammatory statements have appeared on social media almost daily. Dilly Hussein, a journalist at the Islamist 5Pillars website, posted a video about the Dagestan airport riot, saying on X/Twitter that “this is the kind of welcome ALL Israelis should be receiving at the airports of Muslim-majority countries”. Hussein later issued a “clarification”, saying he did not support violence against Jews, and had posted his initial comment when he thought that the riot was merely a legitimate, anti-Israel protest.

In one Bradford mosque, a preacher claimed that the Jews are a nation that “is constantly lying”, adding: “We hear of atrocities that the brothers have committed against the Jews.
 

Azzam Tamimi on Al Hiwar TV (2)

Azam Tamimi, who denied Hamas harmed civilians (Photo: YouTube)

"And we see these lies. Why do we see these lies? Because it has been the trend of the Jews to lie time and time again about what the Muslims are doing in Palestine and in particular Gaza.”

Echoing this theme, the veteran Muslim Brotherhood writer and presenter Azzam Tamimi told viewers of al-Hiwar TV: “On October 7, Hamas targeted military personnel only. All the [Israeli] civilians who were captured or harmed — it was not done by the Hamas fighters.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis was said to be “personally and exceptionally concerned about the impact of the war on inter-communal relations in the UK”.

A source close to the Chief Rabbi said: “He is exploring with government and political leaders, as well as other senior faith leaders, ways in which they might begin the process of repairing the damage, in the cause of urgently strengthening our social fabric.”

A CST spokesperson said: “There are a disturbing number of cases of inflammatory sermons in the past three weeks that appear to incite hatred and encourage support for terrorism.

This is playing with fire at a time of heightened antisemitism and poses a serious threat to community relations.”

Claudia Mendoza, Chief Executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, added: “We have seen a huge upsurge in extremist statements by UK-based organisations, which include calling for the murder of Jews, as well as support for Hamas. It is absolutely vital that the Police, the Home Office, the Charity Commission and all other relevant authorities act with urgency to prevent recurrence of these issues.”

According to the CST, in the 25 days between the October 7 attacks and the end of the month, there were 893 incidents, the highest total ever recorded since the CST’s foundation in 1984.

In the same period last year, there were just 126 reported incidents.

The sermons at mosques in Oldham and Northampton were delivered in Arabic and rendered into English by vetted translators.