Police investigating claims of antisemitic hate speech in UK mosques

Police are investigating allegations of antisemitic hate speech by preachers at mosques across England.

It comes after TalkTV reported that leaked footage showed preachers calling for Jews to be killed and Israel to be destroyed during sermons at mosques in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Northampton.

Alleged footage from a sermon at the Redbridge Islamic Centre in Ilford, east London, shows one speaker praying with his congregation in Arabic to “curse the Jews and the children of Israel” and to “tear apart their (Jewish) community and ruin their houses”, TalkTV reported.

Another clip reportedly from a Liverpool mosque shows a preacher telling his audience to “march on Israel” and to kill Jews “indiscriminately”.

West Midlands Police, the Met Police and Northamptonshire Police told the PA news agency they were investigating the allegations.

Merseyside Police has been approached for comment on the incident in Liverpool.

Referring to the incident at Redbridge Islamic Centre, a spokesperson for the Met said: “Officers have carried out a number of inquiries since being made aware of this video and officers from the East Area Command are investigating.”

Regarding footage in Northampton, a spokesperson for the regional police force said they took the allegations “very seriously” and were investigating to establish whether criminal offences had been committed.