British Imam who applauded Oct 7 massacres praised by BBC as 'highly respected' leader

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The radical Muslim preacher, British Imam Haitham al-Haddad, was introduced as a “highly respected” leader when interviewed by BBC Radio London this weekend about the riots in Great Britain.

Al-Haddad holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and serves on the boards of several Islamic organizations in the United Kingdom, including the Islamic Sharia Council. He is also the chair of the Fatwa Committee for the Islamic Council of Europe.

In 2018, Al-Haddad's history of extremism was highlighted by the British government’s Commission for Countering Extremism, which described him as holding “misogynistic, racist, and homophobic” views.

During the BBC interview, he was introduced as a man who speaks about “conciliation.”

The interview was criticized as legitimizing the Imam's extremist ideology, including his support for the Hamas terrorist organization.

On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists and their accomplices invaded southern Israel, murdering, raping and kidnapping men, women and children. On the same day, Al-Haddad prayed for the terrorists to have “victory” over Israel.

“O Allah, support the people of truth in Gaza, Al-Qudus and Palestine – they have managed to cause confusion to the enemy’s calculations with a new tactic," he wrote in a Facebook post on Oct. 7. "Grant them victory and aid them against their oppressors in their struggle for Justice and Truth.”

Al-Haddad has expressed Jew-hatred referring to Jews as “the descendants of apes and pigs." Earlier this month, he claimed the UK riots were linked to “Zionism.”

“Some of them [rioters] have an agenda and some of them have – maybe that agenda is connected to Zionism at large. Yes, we know this,” he told Muslims who were gathered at the Greenwich Islamic Centre in South London.

“And we know that some of them may want to divert the attention of the Government from condemning what the Zionist-state Israel is doing and they want to stop arming Israel, so they want to attract the attention or divert the attention of the Government,” he added.

Conservative Member of Parliament Nick Timothy said it was “baffling” that the BBC should “justify its decision to platform and praise the notorious Haitham Al-Haddad by saying he was talking about conciliation.”

“There is nothing conciliatory about the beliefs he expresses – about women, gay people and, it seems, Jewish people. The BBC should accept its error and apologise. Our national institutions need to stop treating the likes of Haddad as anything but the spokesmen they are for their divisive and hateful ideology,” Timothy said.

The organization Campaign Against Antisemitism also sharply criticized the BBC network.

“The BBC feted Haitham al-Haddad, praising him as a ‘highly-respected imam’, but one wonders who can respect a man who reportedly prayed to Allah on Oct 7 to ‘grant victory’ to the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel and slaughtered some 1,200 people,” said a spokesman for the volunteer-led charity.

“He was interviewed about the riots because he wanted to ‘correct false narratives’, but given that he has supposedly traced the riots to the ‘Zionist agenda’, it beggars belief that the BBC should be amplifying his views. We will be writing to the BBC.”

Campaign Against Antisemitism is dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law.

A BBC spokesman addressed the criticism by stating that the network features interviews from "a range of contributors."

“We invited Haitham al-Haddad onto the programme to talk about conciliation following disorder in parts of the country. We accept we should have been clearer about the views he has expressed in the past and challenged him on them more robustly," the BBC spokesman said.

“However, we are committed to hearing from a range of contributors and experts to offer a variety of views and perspectives on these complex issues.”

In August 2023, at the “Anchored by Quran” conference organized by the Miftaah Institute, Al-Haddad praised how London now resembles “a second Afghanistan.”

“Our brothers and sisters, if you go outside you think that you are in a second Afghanistan, but you are in Londonistan. So it is really amazing, overwhelming. Don't ever, my brothers and sisters, look at yourselves as a subjugated minority. We are the leaders of humanity."