The police force at the centre of the Allison Pearson row has not investigated a controversial imam who called for “Zionists” to be destroyed.
Users of X, formerly Twitter, alerted Essex Police to comments by Shaykh Shams Ad-Duha Muhammad after footage of him calling for “punishment” of those who support the existence of Israel was posted.
The imam’s remarks came during a sermon at Hamptons Sports and Leisure Centre, in Chelmsford, last year. On Monday, Essex’s police, fire and crime commissioner had been due to speak at the same leisure centre before the address was cancelled with 90 minutes notice.
Users responding to the post tagged Essex Police’s X account, urging it to “investigate”, but the force said this cannot be used as a report of a crime.
Essex Police has come under scrutiny over its decision to investigate Pearson, a Telegraph columnist, over an allegedly offensive tweet a year ago.
Two officers visited her home on Remembrance Sunday and invited her for an interview over “an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online”.
She is being investigated under section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986, relating to material allegedly “likely or intended to cause racial hatred” over a tweet on Nov 16 last year.
It can now be revealed that, three days before Pearson tweeted, the footage of Ad-Duha Muhammad’s comments was flagged to the force on social media.
Speaking in Arabic, he called in prayer: “O Allah, destroy the Zionists who fight your allies and obstruct your path. O Allah, seize them with a mighty and powerful grip, O Lord of the worlds, and unleash upon them your punishment that cannot be repelled by the criminal people.”
In the footage, viewed more than 6,000 times, he called for Allah to “defeat the enemy” and to “support their fighters” and to “grant us victory over the disbelieving people”.
In another clip, in which he spoke in English, he said the word jihad had been “polluted” in “the age of counter-terrorism”, and appeared to suggest that fighting against Israel in Gaza was “virtuous”.
Credit: YouTube/Chelmsford Muslim Society
Essex Police has said it can only effectively triage, record and assess potential crimes if they are reported by phone or through its website.
It is understood the force receives around 90,000 engagements from the public across its social media platforms each year, making it challenging to identify reports of crimes from a tweet.
However, an email shows that the force previously defended the same imam’s right to freedom of expression. Following a complaint including about a selection of his other comments in video footage, Chelmsford residents were told by a district commander in November 2022 that no criminal offences had taken place.
“As you will be aware, the footage is a compilation of numerous excerpts of interviews and recorded preaching in which views that may be contrary to the beliefs of others are outlined,” the officer wrote.
“The rights of all individuals to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which includes in public or private, and in worship, teaching practice and observance is one that is enshrined under Article Nine of the Human Rights Act.
“And whilst you are of course afforded the right to disagree with the views of others where no legislative UK criminal offences have taken place, either through the words used or conduct displayed, then as the police we are unable to take any action.”
The imam has made a series of controversial comments in the past, including in 2013 that Muslim girls should have children instead of careers and that homosexuality was “a vice among vices”, adding that the spread of HIV and AIDS were down to “general moral decline”.
On Monday, Roger Hirst, the police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex, cancelled a public meeting on community safety at Hamptons Sports and Leisure Centre, with his office saying it was postponed in the “interests of public safety” and it was “deeply disappointed” to move the meeting.
Residents who had turned up accused Mr Hirst of running scared of scrutiny and said they were surprised by the choice of location, noting that the leisure centre had been used by Ad-Duha Muhammad for controversial sermons.
The force is facing a growing backlash over its handling of the Pearson investigation, and has been criticised by Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, and Boris Johnson, the former prime minister.
Mrs Badenoch said it was “absolutely wrong” for the police to visit any journalist’s home simply because they had expressed an opinion, and that chief constables who prioritised looking into complaints about allegedly offensive tweets would be “held to account for those decisions”.
Mr Johnson called the behaviour of the police “appalling” and said police were being “forced to behave like a woke Securitate”.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has said police should focus on tackling violent crime and burglaries instead of questioning people over their social media posts.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: “As a force, we ensure it is really easy for people to make a report. If you’re aware of an alleged offence, get in touch. We encourage anyone to make a report concerning any alleged offence.
“Simple tagging of our force social media accounts will not constitute reporting a crime, as we need to be able to effectively triage, record, assess and take certain key details with any reports we receive.
“Thankfully, we have a number of simple methods of reporting offences, which we ensure we promote consistently. You can let us know by submitting a report on our website. Alternatively, you can call us on 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.”
Ayman Syed, the chairman of the Chelmsford Muslim Society, said: “We are a community organisation supporting our local community irrespective of who they are, and at no point have any individuals or organisations used our premises for any activities that may be construed as unlawful.”
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