The UK’s charity watchdog has launched an investigation into the Abdullah Quilliam Society over an anti-Israel, pro-Palestine khutbah by Imam Ajmal Masroor which called for the dismantlement of Israel and criticised the government for ties to the Israel lobby.
The statutory inquiry was launched after the Liverpool mosque posted a video to its social media channels in June 2025, that claimed senior members of the Government were acting improperly and that the Charity Commission was also being “unduly influenced” to “silence” mosque trustees.
The khutba also criticised Britain’s Chief Rabbi for “supporting genocide” and called on Jews to stop supporting Israel. It also took aim at Muslim leaders who have “betrayed Gaza.”
The video appears to have been a recording of a khutbah delivered at the charity’s premises on June 27, 2025 which has since been removed from the charity’s social media platforms.
According to the Charity Commission press release, the sermon’s contents “may not have furthered the charity’s objects could potentially be considered political, divisive and inflammatory.”
The charity, based in Liverpool, was set up to restore Britain’s first ever mosque, founded by the Victorian convert to Islam, Abdullah Quilliam, in 1889.
The charity has a registered purposes to “promote Islam and to educate the public in the heritage of that faith.”
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Masroor’s Khutbah
5Pillars has seen the khutbah by Imam Masroor which sparked the investigation.
During the powerful talk, he condemned Israel for its bloody war on Gaza, and called for the “racist state” to be peacefully dismantled and replaced with a multi-faith Palestinian state.
“Israel is an apartheid state. Israel is a racist state. Israel is a colonial project which must be dismantled today and a new state must be established for all people, regardless of their faith. Whether they are Jews, Christians and Muslims. A state for all people abiding by the international law that we have, giving value to every human being that there is.”
The Imam also pledged to continue speaking up for Palestinian rights regardless of the consequences.
“We are Muslims! The Charity Commission can investigate as many Imams as they want. Oh Charity Commission, I tell you this to your face, you can be lobbied by the Israel lobby every day; you will not silence me or the Imams or the Ummah…
“Israel does not represent Judaism. Israel, if anything, is a destruction, it is the anathema to the teachings of Prophet Musa (Moses) A.S…”
The Imam also issued firm condemnation of Israel, its leadership and demanded Palestinian freedom.
“We condemn the genocide of the Palestinians. We condemn the State of Israel for being the architect of chaos in the Middle East. We condemn Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and orchestrating the mass murder of the Palestinians and we have no embarrassment in saying that; that Palestine must be free tomorrow, must be freed right now!”
Imam Masroor has long advocated for the Palestinian cause ever since he visited Palestine and witnessed Israeli crimes against the natives first hand.
In the 2024 general election, Masroor stood as a pro-Gaza independent candidate in Bethnal Green and Stepney aiming to unseat the Labour Party’s Rushanara Ali.
Masroor amassed 14,207 votes, missing the winning spot held on to by Ali by just 1,689 votes.
To date, Israeli forces have killed a total of 60,249 Palestinians and wounded 147,089 others since 7 October 2023, the Gaza-based health ministry has said. Israel’s war on Gaza is considered a genocide by many experts and Israel has also being accused of starving the besieged strip amid UN warnings of a looming mass famine.
Targeted over Palestine solidarity
The inquiry comes after an official warning was issued against the Abdullah Quilliam Society on June 12 2025, over another sermon which occurred in late October 2023.
In the video, Sheikh Haroon Hanif called BBC coverage of the Gaza war “complete lies.”
He also reportedly said: “We (the Muslims) are large in numbers right now, two billion. If the two billion just marched on Israel it’s all over, if they spat in the direction of Israel, it’s all over.”
According to the Commission, this latest investigation into Imam Masroor’s comments will see the watchdog evaluate the general administration, management, and governance of the charity by its trustees to determine whether there has been mismanagement and/or misconduct on the part of the trustees.
It will establish facts, including the full circumstances around the sermon, determining whether its content was in furtherance of the charity’s objects, and “in its best interests.”
The investigation will also seek to understand whether the charity has updated its policies following the earlier official warning against Sheikh Hanif’s speech.
According to the Charity Commission, the scope of the inquiry “may be extended” if additional regulatory issues emerge during the Commission’s investigation.
As part of its inquiry, the Commission has issued the charity with an Order under section 84A of the Charities Act, which among other things prohibits the charity from allowing sermons or events to be held at the charity’s premises that include content that “does not further the charity’s purposes or are not in the charity’s best interests.”
Similarly, the order prevents the charity from posting certain content on its website or social media channels for the same reason.
Concerns for Muslim free speech
The views expressed by the Imam represent mainstream views of not just many Muslims worldwide but also the Palestine solidarity movement in the UK.
The investigations into comments made by Muslim clerics at the Quilliam Mosque, which has been hailed for its recent efforts engaging in outreach to calm far-wing radicalised protesters during the Southport riots of 2024, has raised serious concern about state overreach in policing pro-Palestine activism and Muslim speech.
Since October 7, 2023, Jewish charities have been found to be actively fundraising for or assisting UK citizens trying to join the IDF, an armed group engaging in crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Several UK-based Jewish charities actively support Israel through various initiatives, including humanitarian aid, community development and educational programs.
These organisations work on a range of projects, from supporting wounded veterans and victims of war to investing in infrastructure and social impact initiatives.
However, the Charity Commission announced that fundraising for Israel’s IDF was not lawful after a London-based Jewish charity, the Chabad Lubavitch Centre, was found to have set up a fundraiser page to raise funds for a soldier of the IDF stationed in northern Israel.
In January, the Charity Commission said it had also opened a regulatory compliance case into the Boys Clubhouse, a Jewish youth charity in north London which invited Levi Simon, a British man who fought for the Israeli army in Gaza to speak to teenagers.
Middle East Eye revealed that the Boys Clubhouse was also running a project assisting young British men that it had helped to join the Israeli army.
