One hundred and twenty scholars and imams have written to the government accusing it of undermining its relationship with the Muslim community over the sacking of Qari Asim as a government advisor.
Qari Asim, who is the imam of Leeds Makkah Mosque, was sacked two weeks ago after appearing to advocate the banning of the blasphemous film The Lady of Heaven.
The Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities said that his support for a campaign to limit free expression, and which has encouraged anti-Shia sentiment, means he can no longer work with government to promote community harmony.
But in a letter to the Minister Michael Gove, the scholars describe the removal of Qari Asim as “a step backwards in our collective efforts to enhance community cohesion.”
Here is their letter in full:
Dear Secretary of State and The Minister for Local Government, Faith and Communities,
Re: Imam Qari Asim
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We are writing to you as religious leaders of British Muslim communities to raise our profound concerns and reservations around the way DLUHC has removed Imam Qari Asim from his roles as the Deputy Chair of the Government’s Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group and an Independent Advisor to define Islamophobia, and the claims that have been made about Qari Asim in the recent letter published on 11 June 2022 on the Government’s website.
We understand that Qari Asim was not contacted to clarify his position regarding the contentions made in the letter by DLUHC. The process adopted by DLUHC to remove Imam Qari Asim is contrary of British values of civility and mutual respect, and undermines dialogue and communication between the government and Muslim communities.
Imam Qari Asim has been an ardent campaigner for fostering inter-faith and intra-faith relations. He has a strong track record of standing up against hatred and extremism, and has contributed enormously to the work of community relations over many years.
The removal of Imam Qari Asim from his roles, in our view, represents a step backwards in our collective efforts to enhance community cohesion. It also reinforces the perception that the government does not intend to adopt a definition of Islamophobia to capture the increasing anti-Muslim hatred in our country.
We would strongly urge the government to take urgent steps to tackle the growing anti-Muslim prejudice and improve its engagement with religious and civic voices across Muslim communities.
Yours,
British Muslim Scholars
List of Signatories:
Sahibzada Pir Sultan Niaz ul Hasan Qadri, Birmingham
Sahibzada Pir Muhammad Noor ul Arifeen Siddiqui, Birmingham
Sahibzada Hafiz Pir Mohammad Anwar ul-Haq Qadri, Bradford
Sayyid Muhammad Zafrullah Shah, Birmingham
Mufti Muhammad Ansar-ul-Qadri, Bradford
Mufti Hafiz Fazl Ahmad Qadri, Derby
Allamah Zafar Mahmood Farashwi, Manchester
Mufti Muhammad Ayyub Ashrafi, Bolton
Professor Masood Akhtar Hazarvi, Luton
Mufti Akhtar ul Qadri Ashrafi, Sheffield
Mufti Muhammad Faiz Rasool, Bristol
Allamah Barkat Ahmad Chishti, Birmingham
Sahibzada Mohammad Asrar Ul-Haq Owaisi, Bradford
Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Naqashbandi, Huddersfield
Sahibzada Muhammad Imran Abdali, Birmingham
Allama Muhammad Din Sialvi, Nelson
Allamah Umar Hayat Qadri, Huddersfield
Allamah Muhammad Naseerullah Naqshbandi, Bolton
Imam Hafiz Muhammad Saeed Hashmi, Woking
Allamah Muhammad Afzal Saeedi, Bradford
Mufti Fazl Quyyum Subhani, Manchester
Qari Muhammad Ali Naqshbandi, Sheffield
Allamah Muhammad Hanif Hasni, Birmingham
Mufti Muhammad Saeed Mujadadi, Accrington
Mufti Muhammad Wajid Iqbal, Bradford
Maulana Muhammad Shabir Sialvi, Manchester
Professor Hafiz Saleem Akhtar, Sheffield
Allamah Muhammad Arshad Jamil, London
Hafiz Muhammad Ghulam Rasool, Birmingham
Sahibzada Mohammad Naveed Sialvi, Dewsbury
Qari Muhammad Ghulam Yaseen, Sheffield
Qari Zahoor Ahmad Saifi, Manchester
Dr Mustafa Raza Khan Baig, Exeter
Allama Nazir Mehrvi, Walsall
Mufti Muhammad Ismael, Nottingham
Qari Tariq Mahmood Qadri, London
Imam Muhammad Tahir Baghdadi, Oldham
Allamah Sanaullah Sethi, London
Allamah Raza ul Mustfa, Burton on Trent
Allamah Muhammad Yasir Sialvi, Wolverhampton
Allamah Muhammad Zeeshan, London
Qari Syed Abulshkoor Qadri, Oldham
Maulana Waqar Baig Qadri, Manchester
Imam Adam Kelwick, Liverpool
Imam Hasan Rabbani, Glasgow
Hafiz Abdul Rasool, London
Imam Siddiq ul Rehman, Newport
Allamah Munawar Saleem, London
Hafiz Zahid Basheer, Sheffield
Imam Farhan Siddiqui, Birmingham
Hafiz Hammad Raza Noorani, Huddersfield
Hafiz Naseer ud Din, Sheffield
Qari Muhammad Rasib, Oldham
Maulana Najeeb Ziai, Huddersfield
Allamah Sajid Mahmood Farashwi, Bradford
Imam Rafiq Ur Rehmam Newoprt
Qari Shabeer Saeedi, Birmingham
Hafiz Hazoor Ahmad Hashmi, Sheffield
Qari Naveed Ahmad, Newcastle
Mawlana Masroor ul Haq Hussaini, Ravensthorpe
Maulana Abdullah Sultani, Birmingham
Qari Rahat Mahmood Chishti, Oldham
Hafiz Muhammad Akhtar Hussain, Sheffield
Qari Muhammad Ayyub Shazli, Huddersfield
Hafiz Muhammad Hasan Chishti, Birmingham
Qari Ghulam Farid Usmani, Newcastle
Maulana Muhammad Farooq Ashrafi, Blackburn
Hafiz Muhammad Yasir, Birmingham
Mawlana Manzoor ul-Haq, Leeds
Allamah Sher Muhammad Qadri, London
Imam Muhmmad Muneer Chishti Oxford
Maulana Hafiz Ijaz Rasool, Sheffield
Imam Hafiz Muhammad Qasim, Leeds
Hafiz Muhammad Ramzan Raza, Birmingham
Imam Muhammad Bilal Walthamstow
Hafiz Amjad Husain Naqshbandi, Huddersfield
Hafiz Allah Bakhsh, Birmingham
Qari Muhammad Ijaz Ahmad, Newcastle
Allamah Muhammad Ameen Qadri, Birmingham
Mawlana Hafiz Mohammad Shafeeq, Leeds
Maulana Hafiz Ibrahim Naqashbandi, Middlesbrough
Hafiz Muhammad Ali Al-Azhari, Warrington
Maulana Abdul Rahman Sultani, Birmingham
Maulana Muhammad Abu Bakr Al-Azhari, Bradford
Maulana Waqar Baig Qadri, Manchester
Hafiz Muhammad Ramiz, Leeds
Imam Muhammad Altaf, Bristol
Mawlana Munir Asim Qadri, Birmingham
Allamah Hafiz Abdul Saeed, Accrington
Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi, Blackburn
Qari Muhammad Faqir, Reading
Allamah Sayed Tariq Shah, Birmingham
Syed Haidar Tirmizi Shah, Halifax
Maulana Aftab Muhiyyudin Al-Azhari, Batley
Hafiz Muhammad Israr Oxford
Imam Abdal Al Rehmaan Alazhari, Burnley
Maulana Muhammad Kadir Ali, Leicester
Hafiz Muhammad Bilal Mudasir, Nelson
Mawlana Mohammad Saqib, Luton
Hafiz Muhammad Maroof, Warrington
Hafiz Muhammad Nisar, Derby
Hafiz Muhammad Farooq, Nelson
Qari Ata ur Rasool, Birmingham
Maulana Mazhar Hussain Chishti, Glasgow
Ustadh Abdullah Ali, Norwich
Hafiz Yaseen Azam, Huddersfield
Imam Afaq Ali Khan, Nelson
Ustadah Dawood Masood, Luton
Qari Ghulam Mustafa Qadri, Dewsbury
Hafiz Mahmood ul Hasan Chishti, Nelson
Hafiz Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Bradford
Hafiz Dawood Ashrafi Lehri, Blackburn
Ustadah Khalil Mohammed, Woking
Qari Muhammad Abdul Rauf, Rochdale
Hafiz Muhammad Ihsaan Ullah, Luton
Hafiz Meharban Sultani, Sheffield
Imam Muhammad Imran Qadar, Dundee
Hafiz Muhammad Khurum, Leeds
Qari Muhammad Farooq Noorani, Oldham
Mawlana Mohammad Saqib, Dewsbury
