A man who claimed to be a former GMB union race and equality officer and who has chaired a children’s charity wore a Hamas-style Islamist headband at Gaza rallies and celebrated a “Muslim army” of protesters.

But he claims it has nothing to do with Hamas.

A key organiser of Gaza rallies in Bradford, Chaq Ashiq Hussain has worn Hamas-style garb at numerous demonstrations, and led chants of “Israel is a terror state”.

Hussain’s bandana – which he claims to have worn for decades – bears the same Islamist declaration to Allah and Muhammad as those worn by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

In one of Hussain’s posts on social media featuring an image of him wearing the infamous white and green slogan, he wrote about a “Muslim army” taking to the streets of Britain.

“We came out in our thousands,” he commented.

Ashiq Hussain has worn the Hamas-style bandana for decades (Photo: X/Twitter)

Hussain told the JC that he had worn the green headband at religious and political events for the past 20 years and claimed it had nothing to do with Hamas. The message on the headband translates as “There is no god except for Allah and Muhammad is the messenger”, and is the same phrase used on flags and sashes paraded by the terror group.

Interviewed by telephone, Hussain insisted that the headband was unrelated to Hamas and said the message is a fundamental tenet of Islam.

“Every Muslim believes in this message. Otherwise, you cannot call yourself a Muslim,” he explained.

When asked if he had intentionally worn a headband like those worn by the terrorists who murdered Israelis on October 7, Hussain said: “I have not seen Hamas’s uniform. I don’t know what the uniform attire is.”

Based in Bradford, he previously worked for children’s entertainment company KidZania, and chaired the charity Street Orphan. He no longer works for either organisation and told the JC he is a full-time activist.

Hussain’s LinkedIn page, now deleted, said he worked at GMB as a diversity and equality officer, and he told the JC that while he was no longer an employee, he was still a member of the union. GMB told the JC it had no record of Hussain’s position as an officer. Hussain did not respond to follow-up inquiries as to why this might be the case. Street Orphans confirmed Hussain worked for them but resigned several years ago. KidZania was approached for comment.

Hussain’s Hamas-style headband has been well documented at rallies in northern England and was revealed by X/Twitter group the Electronic Uprising.

He led an anti-Israel demonstration outside Bradford Central Mosque while wearing the headband last December.

He also wore it at a Leeds Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally on Christmas Eve and again last January when he addressed a crowd. Although police officers engaged with Hussain during these events, he claims they have never questioned him about the headband. His latest known appearance wearing the headband was last March.

The distinctive green headbands became globally infamous after Hamas terrorists wearing similar garb attacked Israel on October 7.

In June, Palestinian-born asylum-seeker Khaled Hajsaad, 25, was convicted under the Terrorism Act for wearing a similar headband during an anti-Israel rally in London in November 2023.

Hajsaad claimed the headband was an Islamic expression of faith that Hamas had co-opted. Despite his defence, he was found guilty and received a three-month conditional discharge.

Last November, the Metropolitan Police sought to identify two men who wore the headbands during an anti-Israel march on Armistice Day.

The Met said at the time: “We still need help identifying these two people in relation to a hate crime.

“We suspect they may have only worn the scarves and headbands while the image was taken.”

Expressing support for Hamas is illegal in the UK, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years.