‘Liberal’ Islamic leader says MPs should be ‘called out’ for having Jewish family

A self-styled “tolerant” Islamic leader has come under fire for claiming that politicians should be “called out” for having Jewish family members.

Taj Hargey, a historian and imam who leads the Oxford Institute for British Islam (OIBI), said it is “important that prominent British politicians” who “blindly support Israel” should be “identified” if they have family links to the Jewish state.

“How can they be non-partisan and unbiased if they do not declare their personal connections to Zionism and Israel?” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

“Is this not the case when the public are frequently reminded directly or indirectly about the faith of Muslim leaders?”

The OIBI is a registered charity that aims to “advance the scholarly study of Islam in the UK”.

Last year, Dr Hargey claimed that his organisation is seen as a “fringe group” because of its focus on “inclusivity and tolerance”. At a speech in December, he said a group of Muslim bodies, scholars and activists should be set up to further co-existence and harmony.

Dr Hargey initially made the remarks while taking part in The Yorkshire Post’s Battleground Yorkshire election series.

During the interview Dr Hargey said that there had been an “awakening” among British Muslims who now “understand this distinction between Germans and Nazis”, adding: “Not all Germans were Nazis. And similarly, not all Jews are Zionists.”

Rhetoric is hugely divisive

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAAS) said that they would be contacting the charity watchdog about his comments.

“These statements would be laughable from a think tank supposedly focused on ‘inclusivity and tolerance’ were they not so atrocious,” they said.

“The analogy of Zionists to Nazis is particularly vile, given that our polling shows that eight in 10 British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists. This rhetoric is hugely divisive, and has no place in the charitable sector.”

Dr Hargey later said that his remarks were made in a personal capacity rather than on behalf of the OIBI.

Dr Hargey cited Humza Yousaf, who stood down as the Scottish first minister earlier this week, the Scottish Labour Party leader Anas Sarwar and London mayor Sadiq Khan as examples of prominent Muslim politicians.

He dismissed the CAAS’ concerns as “risible comments”  made by “Zionists and their camp followers and do not have any substantive merit” adding: “The remarks made were factual and based on historical reality, but Israeli apologists and their British surrogates tend to label any justified critique of the Zionist dream and reality as simply anti-Semitic when they are nothing of the sort.”

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are currently assessing the information available to us to determine if there is a role for the Commission, and any next steps.”