Lesson 11 of Islam’s lecture series was posted on the Muslims Reconnect YouTube channel with the title “The Battle of Khaybar,” a historical touchstone for extremists who celebrate the prophet and his army defeating the Jews. The battle is sometimes referred to during anti-Israel demonstrations with the chant, “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Mohammed will return”.
The battle saw Muhammad’s army defeat a significantly larger force of Jewish and Arabian tribes and seize the Jewish community’s wealth and force the losing side to either make tribute payments to Muslim forces or emigrate from the region.
The Jewish community was expelled from Khaybar several years later by the ruling Caliph
Abutorab Islam defended the consummation of marriage with a child (Muslims Reconnect Instagram)[Missing Credit]
Islam, who also runs a study website called Abueducates, told KCL students: “If you look at the history of the fight, especially in Medina, the Jews were always very very scared people, they never liked face-to-face confrontation... They were not the type of people to have the guts and courage to fight one-to-one, this is from what we know from the historical books.”
He went on to describe how the Muslim army “realised there is a lot of wealth” in Jewish areas.
“The Jews – everybody knows they have a lot of money; they have completely mastered the skill of making money. They used to have all of this wealth, and they used to keep it to themselves,” Islam said.
He described how the Muslim army defeated the Jews, saying: “They cut off the water supply, so the Jews were forced to come out and, in a one-to-one face-to-face confrontation, they were absolutely demolished and they lost even though they have way more people.”
Islam told students: “Whether you get killed or whether you win, for you it is a great reward, so as Muslims we never lose.”
Islam suggested that Brits could not comment on the age of consent (Muslims Reconnect Instagram)[Missing Credit]
Islam has delivered several other talks on campus with Muslims Reconnect. In one, he recommended that Muslim men do not touch “non-mahram” women (women who are eligible for marriage under Islamic law as they are not relatives), saying it is “not permissable” to do so
In a video that has since been removed from YouTube, Islam proclaimed: “It is better for a man to be struck with an iron nail in his head than to touch a woman that is non-mahram to them."
In another talk still on the Muslims Reconnect’s Instagram page, Islam recommended “it is better to get married to a virgin,” so “that you can play with her and she can play with you”. He said there should be “no shame” in this.
He went on to discuss the marriage between the prophet and Aisha, whose age at the time of the wedding remains a subject of intense debate among Quranic scholars – though some believe her to have been as young as six.
Islam, though, said: “She was nine years old and the prophet consummated his marriage with her. She was physically mature, she was menstruating, and she was mentally mature, she was psychologically mature and she had permission from her parents.”
He added that British people have “no right” to talk about the age of consent.
He went on: “1,400 years ago was different. In fact, in 1576 roughly, till the 1800s in the UK the age of consent was ten... before that in the UK they didn’t even have the age of consent, so these people have no right to talk about it.”
In a separate video shared on the Muslim Reconnects Instagram page encouraging followers to “submit” to the rulings of Allah, Islam said women who wear immodest clothes, or “show their beauty outwardly to men,” are “the worst women”.
And in another talk, he told students “All of the prophets are from Palestine,” and led a prayer for Palestinian “victory”.
Several videos of Islam’s talks on campus have been removed from the Muslim Reconnects YouTube channel following their exposure by pro-Israel investigative account, Habibi, who shared clips of Islam on X.
Videos from Islam’s co-founder, El-Omar, remain online, and include one post shared on the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas-led terror attack when he said: “Never think of those martyred in the cause of Allah as dead. In fact, they are alive with their Lord, well provided for.”
Zaid El-Omar has spoken on several UK campuses (Instagram)[Missing Credit]
The caption of the post, which was shared to El-Omar’s 390,000 followers, suggests Jews are the “killers of Prophets, so what can we expect, of course they're going to kill normal humans".
“One year on but this is a lifelong battle between truth and falsehood, good and evil and will continue till the end of times until the war of Armageddon… For now we make dua against them that Allah grants victory to our brothers and sisters, and destroys the enemy just as he did in the battle of Ahzab,” the caption said.
El-Omar’s post appealed to followers to donate money and “keep spreading information against the Zionists”.
In another video, he told his followers that Palestinians killed in Gaza were "Shuhada" or martyrs and will experience “ultimate bliss that is far beyond our imaginations,” when they die.
He referred to “72 minimum” wives – “the extremely beautiful women of Jannah” – whom the martyrs will wed in paradise. “Oh Allah make me of the shuhada,” El-Omar said.
Zaid El-Omar said that Gazans slain in the war will be greated by 72 women in paradise (Instagram)[Missing Credit]
El-Omar has addressed students on campuses including Nottingham Trent University, Cardiff University and the University of Bradford.
The talks at KCL come after the university was criticised in March when a Jewish student locked himself in the chaplaincy room for fear of his physical safety. A pro-Palestinian demonstrator allegedly tried to force the door open after a conflict-resolution event, and made the Jewish KCL student feel “extremely unsafe” and as though the activist was going to “beat the s*** out of me”.
Meanwhile Dr Rana Baker, a KCL lecturer on Middle Eastern history, led a seminar last year in which she was accused of distributing a Hamas propaganda document titled “Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” and encouraging students to think about the terror group as a “liberation” movement.
Baker also allegedly remarked on the “collaboration between Zionists and Nazis” and the “deployment of the Holocaust as a justification to build an exclusive Jewish state”.
In a statement to the JC, the KCL Student Union said: “We are aware of the concerns raised regarding a recent student-led event and are currently reviewing the matter internally, in coordination with King’s College London (KCL).
“At KCLSU, the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. We facilitate a wide range of student-led activities throughout the year and are committed to ensuring that all events align with our values and policies.
"We take all concerns seriously and follow our established procedures to assess and respond appropriately.As our review is ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this stage.”
Islam, El-Omar and Baker have been contacted for comment.
