The imam also called Jews the “biggest enemies of humanity” during the hate-filled tirade.
In response, Ofcom fined the stations £3,500, finding that the broadcast “contained antisemitic hate speech and abusive and derogatory statements, which were potentially highly offensive and not justified by the context”.
But now, Markaz Al-Huda, the registered charity that operates the broadcaster, gave up its licence from the regulator, accusing Ofcom of being a “puppet instrument heavily run and supportive of a Zionist agenda” and a “discriminative and Islamophobic organisation”.
The offensive broadcast and subsequent fallout prompted the National Secular Society (NSS) to refer Markaz Al-Huda to the Charity Commission.
NSS Head of Campaigns Meg Manson told The Times: “Ofcom was right to sanction this group. These comments, broadcast within days of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, were antisemitic in the extreme and could have contributed to the division and hate crime in the wake of that attack.
“We urge the Charity Commission to take an equally robust stance on this charity and ensure it cannot publish hateful or divisive sermons in the future — even if that means removing the charity from its register. Charities must never be permitted to be exploited by extremists.”
The Commission has since confirmed that it is reviewing the incident, according to The Times’ report.
