'Liberal' Islamic think tank condemned for suggesting MPs should be 'called out' for having Jewish family members

The Charity Commission is assessing the comments made to determine if there is a role for the regulator, after Jewish groups wrote to the regulator.

He has previously been described as “Britain’s liberal imam” and has spearheaded attempts to modernise Islam through opening a gay-friendly mosque, describing his think tank as a “fringe group” due to its focus on “inclusivity and tolerance”.

As part of The Yorkshire Post’s Battleground Yorkshire election series, Dr Hargey was asked what the specific issues Muslim voters have, such as those among Bradford West’s large Muslim electorate.

During the interview Dr Hargey said that there had been an “awakening” among Muslims who now “understand this distinction between Germans and Nazis”, adding: “Not all Germans were Nazis. And similarly, not all Jews are Zionists.”

Dr Hargey went on to talk about members of Sir Keir Starmer’s close family who are Jewish, saying that he “should be called out on this”.

“And so that's part of the reason why he's pussyfooting on this whole issue,” he added

Dr Hargey also accused both Suella Braverman and Priti Patel of being “married to a Zionist”

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said that they would be contacting the Charity Commission, which regulates groups with charitable status such as OIBI, about his comments.

"These statements would be laughable from a think tank supposedly focused on 'inclusivity and tolerance', were they not so atrocious,” they said.

"The comments about Sir Keir Starmer's family are textbook racism, and the analogy of Zionists to Nazis is particularly vile, given that our polling shows that eight in ten British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists.

"This rhetoric is hugely divisive, and has no place in the charitable sector. We will be writing to the Charity Commission."

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said that Dr Hargey’s comments were “despicable”.

“Mr Hargey has repeatedly attempted to position himself – and the organisation he represents – as anti-extremist in nature. His statements to the Yorkshire Post reveal such claims to be false.”

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are currently assessing the information available to us to determine if there is a role for the Commission, and any next steps.”

The regulator has statutory powers to disqualify trustees, open statutory inquiries, and remove organisations from its register.

Earlier this year the Government’s extremism tsar said that the UK needs to go “faster and be bolder” in tackling anti-Semitism.

Robin Simcox said that there has been “caution” and “timidity” from the Government in using its powers to crack down on extremism and believed that “things are getting worse” in the prevalence of extremism in the UK over the past three years.

The number of antisemitic incidents in Britain reached a new high in 2023, with reports of 4,103 anti-Jewish hate incidents last year, up from 1,662 in 2022, according to figures from the The Community Security Trust (CST).

A government spokesperson said: “These comments are totally unacceptable and have no place in our open, tolerant society.

“We will always call out antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred and are tackling these issues in all forms, with measures to counter religious hatred and support greater social cohesion, whilst protecting freedom of speech.”

When approached for comment by The Yorkshire Post, the OIBI described the paper as a “Jewish publication” and doubled down on Mr Hargey’s comments.

It said in a statement: “The Oxford Institute for British Islam champions unrestricted free speech, universal justice and unvarnished truth. It will not be intimidated by blatantly partisan journalists, disingenuously vested interests or a pusillanimously pro-Israeli Tory government to be deflected from these foundational objectives.

“When it is sadly routine for Muslim politicians like Sadiq Khan, Humza Yousaf and others to be called out for their faith, why are the strong personal Zionist links of people like Keir Starmer, Suella Braverman, Pritti Patel and many other high profile figures deliberately concealed from public view?

“For far too long, legitimate criticisms of Israel have been expediently dismissed or demonised simply as 'anti-Semitic' when they are actually factual denunciations of Zionist colonialism and Israeli human rights violations in the Holy Land. Contrary to trendy Jewish apologists, there is a clear and compelling distinction between 'anti-Semitism' and 'anti-Zionism'. Indeed, prominent Jewish scholars like Ilan Pappe, Norman Finkelstein, Avi Schlaim, Noam Chomsky amongst other intellectuals are all vocal critics of Zionism and its camp followers.

“If the beholden British Establishment persists in giving a blank cheque to Israel, refuses to be even-handed in the Middle East conflict and prevaricates in demanding an immediate permanent ceasefire to halt Israel's genocidal brutality in Gaza, then it behoves every right-minded UK citizen to defend the rights of the persecuted and the underdog. Is this not the epitome of British values and fair play?”