Cardiff mosque charity warned after sharing Hamas-glorifying video

A British mosque has been formally warned by the Charity Commission after an investigation found it shared a video appearing to glorify Hamas and justify the group’s 7 October attack on Israel.

The Al-Manar Centre Trust, which operates a mosque in Cardiff, was found to have committed misconduct and mismanagement when its chair posted the video on the charity’s social media account in November 2023 without reviewing the full content. The Commission concluded the video gave a “positive image” of Hamas, which is banned in the UK as a terrorist organisation.

According to the inquiry, the footage “attempts to downplay or justify” Hamas’s assault, in which around 1,200 people were murdered and more than 250 taken hostage. It added that the post was likely to lead an ordinary member of the public to infer the charity supported or glorified terrorism.

The chair of trustees, who was solely responsible for managing the charity’s social media at the time, told the Commission he had listened only to the audio before sharing the post, believing it aligned with the trust’s objectives of Islamic education and religious harmony.

The regulator described this approach as “wholly inadequate”, stating the narration alone should have raised red flags.

“There is no excuse for failing to properly review content before it is shared by a charity,” said Joshua Farbridge, Head of Compliance Visits and Inspections at the Charity Commission. “A charity’s reputation can be severely damaged in an instant through reckless use of social media.”

He added: “Our swift intervention, which included an official warning and a legal order requiring specific action to be taken, underscores the Commission’s firm commitment to ensuring charities are not misused in supporting or glorifying terrorism.”

The inquiry found the charity had failed to implement adequate controls despite guidance on preventing extremist abuse in 2014. At the time of the incident, its social media policy consisted only of a basic flowchart with no effective oversight.

As part of the regulator’s enforcement action, trustees were ordered to review all website and social media content. The Charity Commission confirmed the trust had fully complied with the order.

In a statement, the trustees said: “This incident resulted from a genuine human error, which has since been addressed through new policies and training. At no point was there any intention by the charity or its trustees to promote or glorify any proscribed organisation. The trustees have cooperated fully with the inquiry and remain committed to good governance and serving the community.”

The Commission said it had shared information with the police in relation to the video during the course of its investigation.