The annual Al Quds Day rally should be cancelled amid rapidly escalating tensions between the UK and Iran, MPs have urged.
The rally, described by the government’s former anti-extremism tsar as an “anti-Israel jamboree”, is scheduled to take place in central London on March 15. In previous years, it has featured demands for Israel’s destruction and open support for terror groups backed by the Islamic Republic.
The Metropolitan Police said that attendance at this year’s parade is expected to be higher.
The event is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which is under investigation by the Charity Commission over funding concerns and previously campaigned against Holocaust Memorial Day.
IHRC has shared posts in support of the Iranian regime's 'defence' (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
In promotional videos advertising the rally, IHRC shared a clip of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and footage of Iranian regime flags. It circulated videos of posters reading “Iran has the right to defend itself” and an image of Ali Khamenei alongside the words “no surrender”.
Over the weekend, IHRC said that “we mourn the loss of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei,” adding that the “brutal leader chose to stand on the right side of history and history will remember him.” It also called on the “Muslim world” to “repudiate oppressors and the tyrants who attacked [them]”.
Al Quds Day was established in 1979 by Iran’s first supreme leader. Named after the Arabic word for Jerusalem, it was meant to mobilise opposition to Israel and support for Palestinians around the world.
Each year, the streets of London fill with the flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran and chants demanding Israel’s demise. Extremist material has repeatedly been displayed, including the Hezbollah flag before the group was proscribed, placards evoking Nazi imagery, banners calling for the destruction of Israel, and speeches and chants praising Iran-backed militias.
Corbyn appeared in an IHRC video advertising the event (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
In 2022, protesters carried posters of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020, along with placards demanding “resistance by any means necessary”. One poster read: “the more u support the Nazi Israel, the quicker ur end will be [sic].”
IHRC director Massoud Shadjareh, described as a supporter of the Iranian regime, wrote in 2020 that “we are all Hezbollah” and that he “aspired to become like” Soleimani.
The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK), which lists among its aims “reviving the principle of jihad” and countering “the influence of the Zionist lobby”, is also a supporter.
ABSoc for Justice, described as the “activist wing” of the Muslim Student Council (MSC), which mourned the death of Khamenei, is likewise listed as a supporter of the march.
MPs and peers have now called for the annual rally to be cancelled.
David Taylor, Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead, said: “The police must stop this march from going ahead. We cannot allow hundreds of supporters of Iran’s hardline regime to march through London calling for strikes on Israel and death to the West.
““The march is organised by a charity with a history of support for the ayatollahs and Islamist terrorism. In the past we have seen open support for terrorist organisations at these demonstrations. These are people who clearly hate Britain. Why should we be OK with them marching on our streets?” Taylor said.
Luke Akehurst, Labour MP for North Durham, said allowing the event to proceed carried a high risk of serious public disorder.
“It’s completely inappropriate for supporters of the Iranian regime to be allowed to march through London while British forces are under attack from Iran, and risks serious public disorder,” he said. “I would urge the authorities to ban this march.”
Lord Walney, the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption, said that allowing the “notorious anti-Israel jamboree” to go ahead would pose a “considerably increased risk of serious public disorder or serious disruption to communities.
“It will strike most people as absurd that the threshold is set so high to stop what has been shown to be a carnival of Jew-hate actively fuelled by an evil Islamist regime that is swearing death to the West and striking out at our allies across the world.
“Policing antisemitism and support for Islamist terrorism on these marches is just not working and it reflects very badly on modern Britain and our lack of resolve that there is any prospect of this horror show going ahead,” Lord Walney told the JC.
Lord Austin of Dudley, a former Labour MP and member of the JC board, added: “It is outrageous that supporters of Iran’s terror regime are allowed to march on Britain’s streets calling for the destruction of western democracy. I’m all for freedom of speech but this is a hate march by fans of a theocratic Islamist dictatorship that recently slaughtered 36,000 of its own citizens who dared to come out and protest against it.
“Our police forces and the home secretary should exercise their powers and take decisive action to stop these marches from going ahead. Anyone who joins these marches and is not a British citizen should be deported immediately.”
MPs from the Conservative Party have also called for the rallies to be cancelled.
The shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, said the Met should seek permission from the Home Secretary to ban the rally.
Philp told the JC: “This march expresses support for the murderous Iranian regime who have massacred 30,000 of their own citizens in the last three weeks, have sponsored terrorism around the world including Hamas, fuelled the conflict in Yemen and attacked shipping in the Gulf. Serious disorder is likely to arise as a result of clashes with anti-regime protesters and the Met police should seek permission to ban this march.”
A poster of terrorist Qassem Soleimani seen a previous Al Quds Day rally[Missing Credit]
Jewish groups have also called for the London march to be prohibited.
A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies said: “Al Quds Day is in poor taste every year, but at a time when Iran is launching attacks on British bases and allies it seems extraordinary that this should be allowed to go ahead. Those organising it should certainly be attracting the close attention of the authorities.”
In 2024, a Community Security Trust spokesperson described the event as “a march predicated on anti-Israel hate” that was “inspired by the government of Iran with all the extremism and antisemitism that entails”.
That same year, the Jewish Leadership Council said support for terrorism seen from some attendees was “incredibly disturbing for the Jewish community”.
In previous years, Berlin has banned the parade from taking place.
The Metropolitan Police said: “We recognise that there will be more attention on this protest given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. It is likely that numbers will be increased, and the possibility of a counter-protest is greater. We will keep all these matters under careful review and will publish the details of our policing plan closer to the time.”
The JC approached IHRC for comment.
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