Police unable to confirm investigation into sermon citing killing Jews
Despite Jewish communal organisations calling for a police investigation, Nottinghamshire police seem unable to say whether the October 2023 sermon has been or even will be looked into
Nottinghamshire police have been unable to confirm whether they have opened an investigation into a man who preached a sermon citing an infamous text about the murder of Jews, despite the Charity Commission confirming they reported the case to the authorities and Jewish communal groups stressing the need for action.
On 13 October 2023, Harun Abdur Rashid Holmes, then a trustee of Nottingham Islam Information Point charity, gave a sermon in the city. During his speech, he cited the Gharkad Tree hadith, which includes the description that “the hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims will kill them until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree”. The sermon came less than a week after the 7 October massacre, in which Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people and took more than 250 into captivity.
Earlier this week, the Charity Commission announced that they had formally warned the charity in question, as well as disqualifying Holmes as a trustee. The commission also confirmed that they had referred this case to the police.
However, the local constabulary appear unable to confirm what, if any, action has been taken in this regard.
Jewish News approached Nottinghamshire police to inquire whether the force had investigated this sermon, which was publicly available to view online, prior to the report from the charity commission. The police were also asked whether, if there had been a previous investigation, what its conclusions were – and if it had not previously investigated, whether it would do so now considering the commission’s report, as well as the national headlines about the case over the weekend.
Despite a number of calls and emails, the local police department were unable to provide any further update.
A Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) spokesperson said that speech given by Holmes “raises serious concerns about the fragile state of interfaith relations in our country.
“It is even more concerning that not a single cleric has been prosecuted for even the most outspoken and inciteful sermons delivered in the aftermath of October 7. The Police and CPS must investigate and prosecute such antisemitic hate crimes forcefully and consistently.”
According to figures from the Community Security Trust, antisemitism in the UK soared in the immediate aftermath of the 7 October attacks, with October 2023 showing the highest number of monthly incidents of antisemitism since records began.
A CST spokesperson said: “This was a deeply troubling sermon that we believe warranted a thorough investigation by the police. We would expect the police to investigate this properly.”
The Board of Deputies welcomed the Charity Commission’s actions “in relation to a sermon containing highly concerning, inflammatory statements in relation to Jews”, adding that “we would expect the police to investigate any evidence of hate speech and take whatever action appropriate to enforce the law.”
Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, earlier this week, Holmes said his speech had been “taken out of context”, and that he had been quoting Islamic texts.
“It’s not my words. I was talking about the end times, I wasn’t talking about what’s happening now in regards to that prophecy”, he told the paper.
“I’ve done nothing wrong, it’s just that this has been taken out of context by members of the far-right who are Islamophobic and don’t like Muslims.”
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