Muslim police association identifies Zionism as ‘manifestation of anti-Muslim hatred’
Paper from the National Association of Muslim Police also promotes ahistorical narratives on 7 October 2023, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and antisemitism in Muslim countries
British Jewish groups have described their intention to raise serious concerns with government and law enforcement, after revelations that a policy paper from the representative body for Muslim police officers in the UK identifies Zionism as “one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred”, refers to the IDF as a “Zionist terrorist group”, and describes “alarming and unverified stories about acts of violence” on 7 October.
As reported by The Spectator, the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) published the paper, written by its then-Vice President, Khaldoun Kabbani, last year. The NAMP is reportedly affiliated to more than a dozen police forces around the country, including West Midlands police, West Yorkshire police, Greater Manchester police and Police Scotland.
The policy paper in question also claims that “Zionists” are guilty of “misuse of the Holocaust” when describing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, before going on to misuse it themselves, saying that “the process of dehumanisation by the Nazis towards the Jewish people highlights a broader mechanism of oppression, where dominant groups suppress empathy through propaganda and indoctrination to facilitate cruelty. This mechanism is not confined to the past but is observed in contemporary conflicts, such as the situation between the Israeli Government and Military and Palestinians.”
As The Spectator describes, the NAMP document refers to “Zionist terrorist groups including the IDF” and says that “Zionism represents one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred, stripping Muslims of their humanity.”
The paper claims that “Zionist terrorist groups” committed 16 different “genocides” against Palestinians between 1948 and the present day, while containing no mention of the killings carried out by Palestinians during the same period.
It also maintains that “throughout history, including before, during, and after the Holocaust, a horrific manifestation of European anti-Semitism, Jews sought refuge in the lands of Muslims specifically Palestine. In 1947, as Jewish refugees arrived by ships, they unfolded banners stating, “The Germans destroyed our families and homes – don’t destroy our hope.” The Arab world initially welcomed them with open arms, but these efforts were ultimately undermined by covert Zionist colonial agendas.”
In reality, there was significant antisemitism towards Jews within many Muslim societies over the centuries, with Jews often treated as second class citizens and subjected to murderous assaults. In the wake of the creation of the State of Israel, numerous Muslim countries effectively ethnically cleansed their newly formed states of Jewish communities which had lived there for millennia.
The NAMP paper also describes what it calls “alarming and unverified stories about acts of violence” committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023, “including claims of beheadings and assaults. These reports have significantly contributed to increasing hatred towards Islam.”
Though initial reports of 40 beheaded babies were inaccurate, Hamas did carry out attempts to decapitate victims during their assault, including at least one such incident filmed on camera by Hamas terrorists themselves.
The NAMP document goes on to say that “reports from Israeli and Western media initially claimed that Hamas killed 120 children…However, these reports have been challenged by more recent disclosures indicating that not a single Israeli infant was a casualty during the said attacks. It was later confirmed that only one child’s death occurred two days following the attack.” The NAMP paper goes on to blame the media for “falsely insinuating that [Palestinians] perpetrate atrocities against innocents.”
In actual fact, dozens of young children were murdered during Hamas’s assault, as well as many hundreds of civilians. Sexual assault by those who entered Israel from Gaza was also widespread, as set out in multiple reports.
A Board of Deputies spokesperson said: “This disturbing document is full of falsehood including about Jewish identity and history and about the nature of antisemitism. If this is being circulated among officers it poses a direct challenge to the integrity of policing and it should be withdrawn immediately.
“We will be taking this issue up with the relevant bodies within the police and government, to find out how this document came about, how it has been used, and how to ensure that the valued relationships of trust between British Jews and the police are not being undermined.”
A JLC spokesperson said “This document appears to falsely associate an ideology held by the majority of Jewish people as a threat to Muslims. It also engages in deeply troubling Holocaust inversion and denial of some of the worst atrocious carried out by Hamas on 7 October.
“At a time of rising antisemitism including violent attacks on British Jews, this document further threatens community cohesion and police forces should be clear in distancing themselves from it.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “The people responsible for publishing this extremist screed on the official police.uk web domain are unfit to be police officers and must be immediately investigated by their respective forces’ professional standards departments and dismissed. This is every bit as scandalous as the West Midlands Police debacle and even more so – this is not police acquiescence to Islamist extremism, it is evidence that a major national policing association has been infiltrated by or is controlled by Islamists.
“British Jews have long suffered two-tier policing that sees antisemitic crime go unpunished and faith in the police has dropped to its lowest level since our polling began. Saying that the movement for Jewish self-determination contributes to anti-Muslim hatred and that even talking about Hamas’ 7 October atrocity should be stopped is the kind of extremism we would expect to read in the opening of the prosecution case against an antisemite, not on the national police web domain.
“We are writing to the Home Secretary to ensure that this clear threat to British policing results in a clear message being sent. This cannot pass with the document being quietly deleted. Not one of the people involved in publishing this document can remain as a police officer. Furthermore, the National Police Chiefs Council must show leadership by immediately denouncing the National Association of Muslim Police for bringing policing into further disrepute in this manner. If they do not, that is perhaps more alarming than the publication of this document in the first place.”
A CST spokesperson said: “The content of this document is utterly shocking and the fact it has been published under the imprint of police associations is a disgrace. It contains numerous falsehoods and factual inaccuracies about Jews, Zionism and Israel, some of which could reasonably be viewed as antisemitic. There can be no justification for language that downplays the specific anti-Jewish nature of antisemitism, denies well‑documented terrorist atrocities, and draws inappropriate comparisons with the Holocaust. Such narratives spread misinformation and fuel hostility towards Jewish people. The idea that this report might reflect or influence the views of some serving police officers is deeply alarming.
“At a time of record levels of antisemitism in the UK, it is vital that all policing bodies are clear and robust in understanding and rejecting antisemitism in all its forms, just as they stand against anti‑Muslim hatred and all other forms of prejudice. The police service must uphold the highest standards of professionalism, impartiality and evidence‑based analysis, and material of this nature risks damaging public confidence and raises serious questions about judgement and oversight.”
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