One of many organisations planning the pro-Palestine march on Remembrance Day has hit out at a report linking the upcoming occasion to a person claimed to be a former Hamas chief.
Muhammad Kathem Sawalha, who based the Muslim Affiliation of Britain (MAB) within the late 1990s and labored as its director between 1999 and 2007, has “performed no half within the organising of the current protests”, the group stated.
This denial comes after a report by the Telegraph reported the declare Mr Sawalha led Hamas within the West Financial institution within the 1980s.
The report additionally cited a BBC’s Panorama investigation relationship again to 2006 during which it was alleged the person “masterminded a lot” of the political and navy technique of the group – a proscribed terror organisation within the UK.
The MAB founder was named as a co-conspirator in a US indictment for having allegedly helped bankroll Hamas, the report continued.
The British newspaper additionally reported the declare Mr Sawalha joined an official Hamas delegation to Moscow in 2019 and served on the Hamas politburo between 2013 and 2017.
The 62-year-old man was granted British citizenship within the early 2000s, the report learn, and now lives in north London.
The MAB itself got here underneath the eye of the British Authorities in a assessment carried out in 2015, during which it was claimed the organisation had been “dominated” by the Muslim Brotherhood – a transnational Sunni Islamist organisation influencing quite a lot of Islamist actions and political events. Hamas, which has been main the Gaza Strip since 2006, has its roots within the Palestinian department of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In its assertion, the MAB stated the report was “unfounded, sensationalist and inherently racist and Islamophobic”, in addition to a “disservice to the real range and inclusivity that defines our coalition and protests”.
The upcoming protests, the organisation stated, symbolize a “broad coalition involving six organisations, attracting numerous individuals from all walks of life, varied faiths, and completely different political leanings”.
Referring additionally to earlier pro-Palestine marches which have taken place within the UK in current weeks, the assertion continued: “The Muslim Affiliation of Britain rejects the ludicrous suggestion that one man, Mr Sawalha, has single-handedly orchestrated current protests which have drawn tons of of 1000’s every week. Furthermore, Mr Sawalha has not been a member of the MAB management for practically twenty years and has performed no half within the organising of the current protests.”
Accusing the Muslim-led organisations which are a part of the six-strong coalition of being linked to a proscribed group is “not solely baseless but additionally indicative of a disturbing Islamophobic bias” throughout the media, the MAB added.
The protest, the group added, is a “peaceable try to make sure the British authorities fulfils its humanitarian obligation and leads requires a ceasefire so harmless lives could be saved”.
On Monday, the Met Police appeared on the point of banning the deliberate pro-Palestine protest amid claims it could be inappropriate to carry it on the identical day the nation marks Remembrance Day.
The power’s deputy assistant commissioner, Ade Adelekan, stated in a press release: “The danger of violence and dysfunction linked to breakaway teams is rising.”
The officer added: “That is of concern forward of a big and busy weekend within the capital. Our message to organisers is evident: please, we ask you to urgently rethink. It’s not applicable to carry any protests in London this weekend.”
On Sunday, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden expressed the Authorities’s “grave considerations” a few pro-Palestine march going down on November 11, a time he stated was meant to be “a solemn remembrance of the sacrifice of earlier generations”.
The Palestinian Solidarity Marketing campaign, which is main the organisation of the upcoming march, beforehand stated the protest will not go by means of the Cenotaph and the world round Whitehall the place the annual Nationwide Service of Remembrance is to happen on November 12.