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Sheikh Mishary Alafasy has 15 million followers on X and another nine million on Instagram
An Islamic charity has been criticised for its support of a controversial preacher who is carrying out a speaking tour in the UK.
Sheikh Mishary Alafasy, an imam from Kuwait, called on God to “punish the Zionists” in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel in which 1,200 people were murdered.
He has previously railed against the “treachery” of the Jews and said their characteristics included an “eagerness to ignite wars”.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said such rhetoric had no place in the UK. It questioned why the al Mustafa Welfare Trust, a UK-registered charity based in west London, was supporting Alafasy.
The trust, which describes itself as being inspired by the Islamic faith to raise funds for vulnerable and impoverished communities, is advertising Alafasy’s speaking events on its website. There were two last month in London and Birmingham, and he was due to speak on Sunday in Manchester. The events will raise funds for the trust’s Gaza appeal.
The trust describes Alafasy as “one the world’s most renowned Quranic reciters and nasheed artists”, referring to Islamic song.
Them CAA said it was writing to the Charity Commission to complain. A spokesman said: “It is bewildering that a charity would think such a person fit to do a national tour of speaking engagements, which clearly risks distressing the Jewish community.”
On October 10, three days after Hamas attacked Israel, Alafasy wrote in Arabic on X: “God punish the Zionists and instil terror into their hearts and contradict their words, and send down upon them your wrath and punishment.”
In September 2020, the day of the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and a series of Muslim-majority countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, he wrote online: “There is no utility in normalisation … with the treachery of the Jews.” In 2011 a post on the “characteristics of the Jews” cited “their eagerness to ignite wars and corruption on earth”.
The CAA said it would also write to the Home Office to understand how Alafasy was given a visa to come to the UK.
The trust’s website describes Alafasy as a reciter, preacher and nasheed artist who “has amassed a phenomenal following online through his beautiful voice and incredible personality”. He has 15 million followers on X and another nine million on Instagram. His talks were described as “an evening of inspiration” and a “night for Palestine”.
Alafasy is the imam of Masjid al-Kaabi, the grand mosque in Kuwait City. He studied at the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
