The European Union gave £140,000 to the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which organises the annual anti-Israel demonstration on the streets of London.
The EU has not said exactly how much money it has given to the charity over the years and the news comes as the European Court of Auditors has found the European Union is “not sufficiently transparent” in how it funds charities.
Last week The Telegraph reported that the European Commission had allocated the payment to the Islamic charity as part of a payment of £525,000 to a project called the “Counter Islamophobia Toolkit” run by the University of Leeds. The scheme is intended to “critically review dominant anti-Muslim narratives” and compare the responses to Islamophobia across Europe. Of this money, £140,000 was given to the IHRC.
A spokesman for the European Commission told the Sunday Telegraph that it was now preparing to terminate the agreement. Although it has not yet been confirmed if this has happened.
The spokesperson said: “We are looking closely into the allegations that one of the organisations involved had expressed antisemitic views. The Commission services have launched the procedure to terminate the grant agreement with the organisation in question (IHRC).”
The annual Al Quds rally in London is run by the IHRC. Al Quds Day, named for the Arabic word for Jerusalem, is an anti-Israel day of protest held around the time of the final Friday of Ramadan, first initiated by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 as a call for Israel’s destruction.
This march happens each year on London’s streets and features prominent anti-Israel speakers, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn being a regular speaker at the event until he took the top job at Labour. Hezbollah flags are also routinely flown and worn by hundreds of attendees at the event, including by Nazim Ali on occasion. Israel flags were burned at this year’s protest and anti-Semitic comments were made during the rally, with one woman telling pro-Israel supports that “the whole world hates Jews”.
Last year, Nazim Ali, a leader within the organisation and the organiser of the Al Quds rally, sparked controversy when he blamed Zionists (meaning Jews) for the deaths in the Grenfell Tower fire.
Mr. Ali was recorded saying that victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, “were murdered by Theresa May’s cronies, many of which are supporters of Zionist ideology”.
“Let us not forget that some of the biggest corporations who were supporting the Conservative Party are Zionists. They are responsible for the murder of the people in Grenfell, in those towers in Grenfell, the Zionist supporters of the Tory Party,” the IHRC chairman continued.
He clearly pointed out that it was Jews and not Zionists he was inferring when he concluded his comment, saying, “Careful, careful, careful of those rabbis who belong to the Board of Deputies, who have got blood on their hands.”
In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, the IHRC ran its “Islamophobe of the Year” awards ceremony in 2015 and gave the award to Charlie Hebdo. This is despite the fact 12 people from Charlie Hebdo had been brutally slaughtered the month before.
Nazim Ali even joked that “no one from Charlie Hebdo could be here to collect the award”. They even broadcast a song about Charlie Hebdo on stage which accused the publication of committing a bigger crime than those who murdered them, and suggested the attackers were not Islamic, but trained by NATO.
This action was rebuked as being “insensitive”, but also shows a lack of morality by the organisation. That they would even list Charlie Hebdo as a nominee for such a reward is appalling, but to actually award it to them is beyond reprehensible. Whether you agree with the views expressed by the publication or not, respect should be given to those who lost their lives. As the Islamic “Human Rights” Commission, they seem to show no sympathy, understanding or respect to those killed by radical Islam.
And of course, Jeremy Corbyn, who is a strong supporter of the Al Quds Rally in London and was a regular speaker for the events until he became leader of Labour, is also a big fan of the IHRC.