The Anti-Defamation League has reacted angrily to claims that the Prophet Mohammed was poisoned by a Jewish woman.

The claim, made on the Huffington Post’s Arabic site, has caused widespread controversy, with the anti-racism watchdog calling for the article to be taken down.

“It is troubling that an antisemitic screed cleared the Huffington Post’s editorial review process and that our concerns so far have been ignored,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, the organisation’s CEO in the United States.

“We call on The Huffington Post to immediately remove this offensive entry and to ensure that the proper safeguards are in place so that the Arabic site is free of antisemitism and incitement against Jews.”

The claim originates in Islamic texts, known as hadith, which describe the life of Mohammed and were written in the centuries following his death in 632 AD.

Though some Muslims regard the hadith as entirely correct they are generally regarded by Muslim scholars as being of varying reliability, and some hadith contradict others. 

The Hadith of Bukhari claims that a Jewish woman attempted to poison Mohammed to test whether he was a real prophet. The attempt failed but is thought to have contributed to his later death.

Jewish and Muslim scholars have questioned the motives for the Huffington Post story. Mohammed Amin, co-chair of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester said he was unable to vouch for the reliability of the original hadith text. “I am crystal clear that the actions of one Jewish woman, even if that story happens to be correct, have no relevance for the way Muslims should relate to Jews in the generality, since each person deserves to be respected as an individual,” he said.