Controversial Imam with history of inflammatory comments pulled from event with Naz Shah MP after concerns raised

A controversial Imam with a history of inflammatory comments has been pulled from an event, where the disgraced Labour MP, Naz Shah, was due to appear alongside him, after concerns were raised.

The “Free Gaza, Free Palestine” fundraiser was advertised on social media and originally featured Imam Asim Hussain with Labour MPs Naz Shah and Imran Hussain also due to appear.

In his online talks, Imam Hussain has previously said that Gaza is “the largest concentration camp in the world” and that the “true Orthodox Jewish man” does not support Zionism.

According to the International Definition of Antisemitism, “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” is an example of antisemitism.

Imam Hussain also promoted the controversial ‘Free Palestine’ convoy, whose participants drove through a Jewish neighbourhood shouting “F*** the Jews…rape their daughters” through megaphones.

On Facebook, Imam Hussain has reportedly alluded to “the media” being “controlled by certain lobbies” and that because Arabic is one of the “Semitic languages,” then “what the Jews and the west say about Palestinian Arabs is ‘antisemitic’.”

Appearing alongside the controversial Imam would not have been Ms Shah’s first brush with antisemitism. Ms Shah’s previous dalliances with antisemitism were so grave that they led to her suspension from the Labour Party even under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, and she has appeared in recent weeks to resent how she was held to account. She also recently shared a platform with Mr Corbyn but has not been disciplined, even though Mr Corbyn, like Ms Shah before him, was suspended from the Party for antisemitism. 

Earlier this month, Ms Shah reportedly spoke at a rally where calls were made to “lift the curse of the Jews off the Muslims in Palestine!”