Twenty nine Barelwi Sunni imams have called on Leeds Makkah Mosque to sack Qari Asim and have urged Muslims to dissociate themselves from him due to his controversial work with the British government and Zionists.
The extraordinarily strongly-worded letter accused Qari Asim of betraying his own community for personal or political gain.
It comes after Qari Asim and other Muslims signed a Muslim-Jewish “reconciliation” agreement with Zionists to set out “a new framework for engagement” between Britain’s Muslims and Jews “built on mutual respect, dialogue, and practical collaboration.”
Qari Asim is also fronting the new British Muslim Network – a government-friendly Muslim organisation with the remit of liaising with the authorities over Muslim issues.
The open letter by the Barlewi imams states: “Although he serves as an Imam, he has consistently undermined the interests of the British Muslim community by forging close relationships with the UK government (across both major parties) and supporting policies that disproportionately harm Muslims…
“Furthermore, Qari Asim’s engagement in deceptive interfaith and so-called community cohesion initiatives has led to dangerous associations with Zionist organisations and figures such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis — groups that have no intention of fostering true understanding, but instead use such platforms to normalise the illegal occupation of Palestine and to pacify Muslim opposition to Zionist crimes.”
The imams called upon Leeds Makkah Mosque “to reconsider its appointment of Qari Asim as its Imam and to instate someone more qualified, respected, and sincere in upholding Islamic values.”
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And they called upon Muslims “to abstain from prayers led by Qari Asim and to consider any prayer led by him to be severely disliked (makruh tahrimi) and necessary to be repeated henceforth.”
5Pillars reached out to Leeds Makkah Mosque and Qari Asim for comment but they did not reply.
Here is the statement by the imams in full:
The False Leadership and Treachery of Qari Asim
Independent Statement from British Scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah
25th February 2025
In the name of Allāh, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to Allāh, the Creator of the Universe. Blessings and salutations, upon the leader of all messengers, the seal of prophets, our master Muhammad; and upon his descendants and his companions.
Allāh is sufficient for us and in Him alone we trust.
INTRODUCTION
In every era, the Muslim community has faced challenges from within —challenges that threaten its cohesion, undermine its values, and compromise its religious and moral integrity. Today, one of the gravest threats to British Muslims comes not just from external pressures but from individuals who, under the guise of leadership, betray their own community for personal or political gain. These individuals align themselves with governmental agendas that harm the interests of British Muslims and engage in deceitful interfaith initiatives that serve not as bridges of mutual understanding but as tools for legitimising oppression.
The first danger lies in the uncritical support for government policies and programmes that, rather than serving British Muslims, marginalise and suppress them. In recent years, we have seen how counter-extremism policies, discriminatory legislations, and surveillance measures disproportionately target Muslim communities under the pretext of security and cohesion. By aligning with such policies, certain individuals not only fail to represent Muslim interests but actively facilitate the erosion of our religious freedoms, the vilification of our scholars and institutions, and the silencing of legitimate political dissent. Their complicity enables the state to dictate the terms of Islamic practice and identity, reducing Muslims to second-class citizens in their own country.
The second danger is the false guise of interfaith dialogue and community cohesion when it is used to normalise relationships with Zionist groups that directly support and justify the oppression of Palestinian Muslims. Islam encourages genuine interfaith dialogue based on truth and justice, not one that legitimises aggression, occupation, and apartheid. Those who partake in such deceptive initiatives betray the global Muslim Ummah, particularly our oppressed brothers and sisters in Palestine. By cozying up to Zionist organisations, they grant legitimacy to an ideology that has systematically displaced, brutalised, and murdered innocent Muslims for decades. Their actions run contrary to Islamic teachings on justice and loyalty to the oppressed, as well as the fundamental principles of walaʾ (loyalty) and baraʾ (disavowal).
THE SPECIFIC CASE OF QARI ASIM
One such individual who has emerged as a prime example of this betrayal is Qari Asim, who serves as an Imam at Makkah Mosque in Leeds. Although he serves as an Imam, he has consistently undermined the interests of the British Muslim community by forging close relationships with the UK government (across both major parties) and supporting policies that disproportionately harm Muslims. His participation in state-backed initiatives, particularly those associated with counter-extremism such as Prevent, has made him a willing instrument in the government’s systematic suppression of Muslim activism and victimisation and targeting of Muslims. By supporting these government narratives, he has assisted in the vilification of his own community and has acted as a bridge between oppressive policies and their implementation on British Muslims. Often, Qari Asim seems to deliberately ignore the suffering and oppression of Muslims both in the UK and worldwide (as evidenced by the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza), while at the same time he is quick to condemn any criminal acts committed by those who claim to be Muslim.
Furthermore, Qari Asim’s engagement in deceptive interfaith and so-called community cohesion initiatives has led to dangerous associations with Zionist organisations and figures such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis—groups that have no intention of fostering true understanding, but instead use such platforms to normalise the illegal occupation of Palestine and to pacify Muslim opposition to Zionist crimes. His willingness to engage with and validate such entities, despite the ongoing atrocities against Palestinian Muslims, represents a flagrant betrayal of the Islamic cause. It not only disregards the suffering of our brothers and sisters but also gives credibility to those who seek to silence Muslim advocacy for justice.
Additionally, Qari Asim has long sought to portray himself as a national leader of British Muslims, particularly of the Sunni (Barelwi) community, despite having no real authority or credibility within it. The UK government, in an effort to manufacture a “moderate” Muslim voice that serves its own interests, has repeatedly given him platforms and official roles that falsely suggest he is a representative of British Muslims. Yet, in reality, the community in no way regards him as their leader, and among genuine scholars and activists, he is widely discredited.
A key example of this self-promotion is his position as Chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) — an organisation that exists in name only and does no substantive work for the Muslim community. Instead, it acts merely as a vehicle to serve the personal ambitions of Qari Asim, granting him a title that he uses to gain legitimacy in government circles. Despite its name, MINAB has been completely dormant playing any role within the Muslim community.
OUR CALL
The role of an Imam and a community leader is a sacred trust (amānah) that must be upheld with sincerity, integrity, and unwavering commitment to the values of Islam and the well-being of the Muslim Ummah. Qari Asim has demonstrably betrayed this trust through his close alignment with the UK government’s harmful policies towards Muslims, his complicity in legitimising Zionist oppression under the guise of interfaith dialogue, and his self-serving attempts to falsely portray himself as a representative of British Muslims, particularly the Sunni Barelwi community. His actions are not only detrimental to the faith and dignity of British Muslims but also constitute a grave betrayal of Islamic principles.
For this reason, it is incumbent upon the Muslim community to take a firm and principled stance against his continued influence and reject his misrepresentation of our faith. We therefore make the following calls to action:
We call upon the UK government to desist from parading Qari Asim as a representative of British Muslims, particularly the Sunni Barelwi community. The British Muslim community does not recognise him as their leader, and any attempt to impose him upon us is an act of blatant manipulation that we outright reject.
We call upon Leeds Makkah Mosque to reconsider its appointment of Qari Asim as its Imam and to instate someone more qualified, respected, and sincere in upholding Islamic values. A mosque should be led by someone who truly represents the interests of its congregation, not by someone who has repeatedly compromised his religious and moral integrity for personal and political gain.
We call upon all Muslim brothers and sisters to abstain from prayers led by Qari Asim and to consider any prayer led by him to be severely disliked (makruh tahrimi) and necessary to be repeated henceforth. An Imam must be someone whose leadership is free of doubt, controversy, and compromise with oppressive forces—qualities that Qari Asim has long forsaken.
We call upon mosques and Islamic institutions across the UK to disassociate themselves from Qari Asim and to refuse to host him at their events or give him a platform to speak. The presence of such a compromised individual in our spaces taints the sacred duty of religious leadership and misguides the unsuspecting.
We call upon all Muslims, scholars, and activists to remain vigilant against individuals like Qari Asim, who exploit religious titles and positions to further the agenda of external forces at the expense of their own community. We must collectively safeguard our institutions from infiltration and ensure that those who lead our mosques and religious bodies are sincere, knowledgeable, and unwavering in their commitment to Islam.
Signed:
Mufti Nizamuddin Misbahi (Blackburn)
Mufti Muhammad Aslam Bandyalwi (Bradford)
Mufti Muhammad Fazil Bandyalwi (Bradford)
Allama Zafar Mahmood Farashwi (Manchester)
Mufti Saqib al-Shaami al-Qadri (Oldham)
Mufti Sayyid Kamil Shah Bukhari (Blackburn)
Shaykh Asrar Rashid (Birmingham)
Shaykh Naveed Jameel (Nottingham)
Allama Sayyid Munawar Hussain Shah Bukhari (Blackburn) Allama Sayyid Sajjad Hussain Shah Bukhari (Blackburn) Mawlana Sadiq Zia (Birmingham)
Shaykh Naveed Ashrafi (Blackburn)
Mufti Shahid Ali (Bradford)
Imam Adil Shahzad (Bradford)
Mawlana Mubeen Raza Attari Madani (Luton)
Mawlana Muhammad Nizam Ashraf (Bolton)
Mawlana Sajid Ali (Watford)
Mawlana Kamran Khan (Doncaster)
Shaykh Tauqir Ishaq (Nuneaton)
Mawlana Karimul Islam (London)
Imam Bilal Ibn Asif (Birmingham)
Ustad Atzaz Umar (Birmingham)
Mawlana Haroon Raza (Birmingham)
Hafiz Qasid Ali (Birmingham)
Mawlana Qais Ahmed (Walsall)
Qari Suhail Ahmed Qadri (London)
Mawlana Saad bin Sadiq (Birmingham)
Mawlana Sajid Younis (Birmingham)
Hafiz Muhammad Zia (Nottingham)
Mawlana Rashad Rizvi (Walsall)
