A controversial Muslim activist has blamed the “papers” of “Zionist institutions” for the Charity Commission’s decision to open a statutory inquiry into a mosque that has been dubbed the “London office” of Iran’s brutal Revolutionary Guards.

Speaking at a protest against the inquiry outside the Islamic Centre of England (ICE) in London’s Maida Vale on Thursday night, the Chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission Massoud Shadjareh, said: “This is not, I repeat, not just about the Islamic Centre of England, this is about Islam in Britain.

“The issue is about they want to control; do we talk about and criticise LGBT, do we criticise injustices like what is happening in Palestine, what is happening in Kashmir? That is the issue. The Charity Commission keeps on writing letters and saying [that we] are bringing the charity into disrepute, what do they mean? 

Islamic Centre

Anti-Charity Commission protesters outside the Islamic Centre of England, June 1, 2023

“Have any of you, who are the charity, been asked what you think about your charity? No, so who is complaining? Zionist Federation, Zionist institutions, Islamophobic groups, anti-Muslim groups and extreme right. They and their papers are complaining.”

In the past, Shadjareh has said he was “inspired” by Iranian General Qasam Soleimani, the former head of the regime’s brutal Quds Force.

The Charity Commission stripped ICE’s trustees of their powers three weeks ago and appointed a solicitor as an “interim manager” to run its affairs. Last week, the centre it locked its gates and suspended all activities.

Protesters at the rally attacked the charity watchdog’s “takeover” of the centre.

The Khomeinist thug Massoud Shadjareh backing the Rushdie must die fatwa, after he was stabbed.

The authorities continue to allow his self-styled "Islamic Human Rights Commission" to operate as a charity. https://t.co/gLmPi3RuG0 pic.twitter.com/GECsiwRUVC

— habibi (@habibi_uk) October 23, 2022

On Wednesday an open letter was published on the IHRC’s website accusing the Charity Commission of “deliberately harassing” Muslim-run charities. Signatories included disgraced vicar Stephen Sizer, who was barred by the Church after been found guilty of sharing “virulently antisemitic” material, and controversial former Labour MP Chris Williamson. 

Islamic Centre Emma Moody

Protestors with a placard that dubs the Islamic Centre of England's 'interim manager' Emma Moody a dictator, June 1, 2023

Earlier this year, senior Conservative MP Alicia Kearns told the JC that ICE was an “outreach centre” for the Iranian regime.

She told the BBC Today programme in January: “I would like to see the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp office in Maida Vale closed. There is a, they like to call it an outreach centre, an Islamic centre. The head of it was appointed directly by the Supreme Leader of Iran. This is an organisation that is solely there to spread the word of the Islamic repressive regime.”