‘No offence,’ say police after ‘curse the infidels’ speech at London mosque

The Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service have said no offences were committed following accusations of hate speech and incitement at a Greenwich mosque.

Concerns were publicly raised following a sermon preached by Imam Muhammad Abdullah Shakir on 20 October, at the Greenwich Islamic Centre in London, 13 days after the 7 October attacks in Israel by Hamas terrorists.

At the centre, a registered charity, Shakir prayed that Allah would grant “victory over the enemy,” asked his congregation to “curse the infidels”, “destroy their homes” and “purify Al Aqsa” of Jews.

The sermon was shared widely online, receiving 1.4 million views.

In a statement today on Twitter/X, the police stated: “On 26 October we were made aware of a video on social media of a sermon read at a local mosque. Officers & @CPSUK undertook a detailed assessment of the video and concluded no offences were committed.”

The Greenwich Islamic Centre issued a statement, also on Twitter/X, on 27 October, condemning “hate speech, equating antisemitism with Islamophobia. We uphold interfaith collaboration, and are addressing concerns raised in media reports seriously, and are conducting a thorough investigation.”

Royal Borough of Greenwich council leader Anthony Okereke and borough opposition leader Cllr Matt Hartley also made a formal statement, condemning Shakir’s sermon.

They said they stood together “with sadness and disgust to denounce, in the strongest possible terms, the recent comments made by Imam Muhammad Abdullah Shakir. We are aware that the incident has been raised with the appropriate authorities and we hope that they will launch an immediate investigation into the matter.

“Without a doubt it is our differences and how we celebrate them that makes us the strong, united borough we are today. Every person of every faith is welcome in our borough. To say, our Jewish friends are not welcome here belies the integral contribution they have made to the community we have shared for centuries.

“Instead we say to them, you are valued. You are our neighbours and our friends. We will stand up against hate and as a community, we will refuse to let anyone make you feel unsafe or unwelcome. It comes as no surprise to us that members of our Muslim community have also condemned Imam Shakir’s words and we are glad to stand in solidarity with them against hatred in all its forms. The Royal Borough of Greenwich has and always will be strongest together. We will not stand for any attempt to threaten this and call upon everyone to remain united against hate.”