**Charity Warned Over “Inflammatory” Sermon After Hamas Attacks**
A charity in Nottingham has been formally warned by the government and one of its trustees disqualified after a sermon was deemed “inflammatory”. The sermon, delivered by the Nottingham Islam Information Point on October 13, 2023, included statements that encouraged Muslims to fight against Jews.
**Sermon Encouraged Violence**
According to the Charity Commission, the sermon said: “The hour will not start until the Muslims fight against the Jews, and the Muslims will murder them until a Jew is hiding behind a stone or a branch”. This is just one of over 300 cases related to charities and the conflict in the Middle East.
**Charity’s Response**
When contacted for a response, the Nottingham Islam Information Point was asked to comment on the sermon. The charity aims to support victims of Islamophobic assaults and dispel misconceptions about Islam. However, its trustee, Harun Abdur Rashid Holmes, was disqualified last July after the Charity Commission found that he had not acted in accordance with his duties as a trustee.
**Misconduct or Mismanagement**
The regulator deemed that Mr. Holmes had not given sufficient context to the sermon and had failed to consider the timing of the event, which took place six days after the Hamas attacks on Israel. The commission also noted that some of the content of the sermon was derived from a hadith, but this was not provided in context.
**Robust Action**
Stephen Roake, the Charity Commission’s director of investigations and enforcement, said that the regulator had acted “robustly”. He stated that charities should bring people together during conflict situations, rather than inciting division. After the charity’s intervention, its remaining trustees took steps to improve governance, including introducing a more robust event policy.
**Warning for Charities**
The Charity Commission has examined over 300 cases related to the conflict in the Middle East since 2023. In about a third of these cases, the commission has issued formal statutory guidelines. Over 70 referrals have been made to the police when the regulator believed that a criminal offense may have been committed.
**Charity Leaders Must Act**
David Holdsworth, chief executive of the Charity Commission, wrote in an opinion piece published in the Sunday Telegraph: “Some people undermine charities’ potential to do good”. He emphasized that those who use charities to promote hatred or harm to others cannot hide. The commission is urging all charities that host events or speakers to ensure they have adequate due diligence in place.
Read More @ www.bbc.com
