The Charity Commission has disqualified the former chair of an Islamic charity over an “inflammatory and divisive” sermon he delivered days after the events in Israel on 7 October 2023.
Former Nottingham Islam Information Point trustee Harun Holmes shared a sermon on the charity’s premises on 13 October 2023, which included language such as “the hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree”.
After reviewing footage of the sermon, the commission recognised that some of the content had been taken from a specific Hadith, a narration of historical events ascribed to the prophet Muhammad.
However, the regulator judged that Holmes’ sermon was given without the appropriate context to its source material and as such was “inflammatory and divisive”.
The commission said there was no consideration given to how appropriate it would be to deliver such a sermon, which showed that Holmes “lacked the good judgement expected of a trustee”.
“Holmes accepted that with hindsight the Hadith was sensitive, and he did not give sufficient context to it,” the commission said in a statement.
“The sermon did not further the charity’s purposes, including to provide relief to those in need, and was not in the charity’s best interests.
“The regulator found that the sermon amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement.”
The commission also found Holmes failed to comply with regulatory advice the charity had received when he was its chair.
As a result, the regulator disqualified Holmes from serving as a trustee or holding any senior management position in a charity in England and Wales for three years, taking effect in July 2024.
Official warning
The commission also issued the charity with an official warning and set out actions to improve its governance, including ensuring all activity at the organisation contributes to its purposes.
It ordered the charity to create, implement and adhere to robust and suitable policies on topics including social media use and speakers.
And it told the charity to ensure all current and future trustees understand their legal duties as set out in the regulator’s guidance.
After monitoring the charity’s progress with these actions, the commission has now concluded its case.
Trustees have taken ‘positive steps’
Stephen Roake, assistant director of investigations and compliance at the commission, said: “In times of conflict, people expect charities to bring people together, not to stoke division.
“In this case, we found due consideration had not been given to the words and rhetoric used. The sermon was inflammatory and divisive, and we acted robustly and disqualified the trustee who gave the sermon. We also issued the charity with a formal warning.
“Following our intervention, the charity’s remaining trustees have taken positive steps to improve their governance. This includes the introduction of a more robust events policy. All charities that host events and speakers should take note of this case and ensure they have sufficient due diligence in place.”
Civil Society has contacted the Nottingham Islam Information Point for comment.
