Islamic centre under investigation for ‘death to Israel’ chants

An inquiry has been launched after a group was filmed shouting “death to Israel” inside an Islamic charity premises.

The Charity Commission announced it had opened a statutory inquiry into Al-Tawheed (TUCF) Charitable Trust following videos from inside one of its properties, revealed by the BBC at the start of this year, depicted antisemitism and denial of the Holocaust.

It also showed speeches by members of Iran’s sanctioned military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The videos came from events held inside the Kanoon Towhid Islamic centre in west London in 2020 and 2021, commemorating Iran’s top military commander General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US air strike in 2020.

The Iranian general was the godfather of Tehran’s irregular warfare strategies, including funding anti-Israel militias such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. He was also sanctioned by the UK.

Chants of “death to Israel” were heard at the event, though it is not known who was saying them.

Senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil, left, killed in Lebanon in January this year, sitting next to Iran’s Quds force General Qassem Soleimani (AP)

Two other events were live-streamed speeches by former and active IRGC commanders, including one which described an apocalyptic war on Jews.

The charity regulator said it was investigating “serious concerns over the misuse of charity premises”.

The regulator said: “Through reviewing video footage provided to the regulator, the Charity Commission is aware that speakers praised Soleimani and could hear anti-Semitic chants being made during the event.”

The commission added that it “has significant concerns about these matters and will be examining what controls the charity has in place for events and external speakers”.

Trustees of TUCF told the Commission they were not in office at the time. The Islamic Students Associations of Britain (ISA), which was founded to promote the philosophy of the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, said it promoted the event but did not attend either.

The footage adds to growing concerns from some MPs that the IRGC is attempting to radicalise UK Muslims.

The IRGC has previously been linked to kidnap and assassination plots in the UK. There have been at least 16 such plots confirmed since 2020, according to counter-terror police.

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