Islamist radio fined for antisemitism accuses Ofcom of ‘Zionist bias’

A UK-based Islamic radio station that aired a hate-filled sermon accusing Jews of “killing prophets” and being the “biggest enemies of humanity” just days after the Hamas massacres has launched a blistering attack on Ofcom – branding the regulator a “Zionist puppet” and “Islamophobic”.

Salaam BCR, a community station serving Bury, Greater Manchester, was fined £3,500 by Ofcom after broadcasting a 38-minute sermon by Pakistani imam Shuja Uddin Sheikh on 17 October 2023, ten days after Hamas’s mass slaughter in Israel.

The speech, recorded in Pakistan, was laced with classic antisemitic tropes. Sheikh accused Jews of “only protecting their own interests”, “instigating war”, and “strengthening their economy” in pursuit of a so-called “Greater Israel”. The rant, Ofcom concluded, amounted to antisemitic hate speech.

The regulator’s ruling found that Salaam BCR had aired “abusive and derogatory statements” that were “potentially highly offensive and not justified by the context.” The station was penalised under the Broadcasting Code for failing to prevent the transmission of harmful content.

But the station’s parent organisation – Markaz Al-Huda, a registered charity – has responded by surrendering its broadcasting licence and accusing Ofcom of systemic bias.

In an extraordinary outburst, the group described Ofcom as “a puppet instrument heavily run and supportive of a Zionist agenda”, and that it was “a discriminative and Islamophobic organisation,” according to The Times.

The fallout has now triggered further scrutiny. The National Secular Society has called on the Charity Commission to investigate Markaz Al-Huda, arguing that the body should be removed from the charity register if it is found to have promoted or facilitated extremist hate speech.

Meg Manson, Head of Campaigns at the NSS, told The Times: “Ofcom was right to sanction this group. These comments, broadcast within days of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, were antisemitic in the extreme and could have contributed to the division and hate crime in the wake of that attack.”

She added: “We urge the Charity Commission to take an equally robust stance on this charity and ensure it cannot publish hateful or divisive sermons in the future – even if that means removing the charity from its register. Charities must never be permitted to be exploited by extremists.”

The Charity Commission has confirmed it is reviewing the case, but has not yet announced whether formal regulatory action will be taken.

The sermon remains publicly available on Sheikh’s YouTube channel. He has previously posted material glorifying jihad and criticising interfaith dialogue with Jews, calling it “a form of betrayal”.