NHS boss suspended over Islamic 'hate' website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28838563

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An NHS boss has been suspended after a BBC investigation revealed him as head of a charity which carried articles discussing the killing of gay people.

Shahid Sardar, head of public engagement at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, runs the Whitechapel-based Islamic Network.

A probe of the charity's website found pages - now deleted - that anti-extremists say constitute hate speech.

Mr Sardar says the articles predate his tenure and do not represent his views.

One article on the website called homosexuality a "sick disease".

It went on: "These acts of defiance against human nature are also even viler and uglier than adultery.

"There is consensus among both Muslims and the followers of other religions that lesbianism and homosexuality are evil and filthy practices."

The article quoted medieval Muslim scholars saying gay people should be "destroyed by fire", "executed by being thrown from a great height" and "stoned to death".

Another quote suggested they should have a "wall dropped on them".

A second article warned Muslims against "taking the unbelievers as intimate friends and allies".

It continued: "Mere hatred in the heart does not suffice. Rather it is essential, that along with this, there should be a manifestation of its requirements.

"It is obligatory to show enmity to the unbeliever, even if he gives you things and shows kindness to you."

'Shed blood'

A further article on the website said: "The Jews strive their utmost to corrupt the beliefs, morals and manners of the Muslims.

"The Jews scheme and crave after possessing the Muslim lands, as well as the lands of others."

The website also said it was permissible to "shed blood" when dealing with someone leaving Islam.

It read: "It becomes obligatory on the Muslims to kill him unless he returns to Islam."

Analysis shows the articles remained viewable in late 2010 and can still be found in cached form.

The Charity Commission's records indicate Mr Sardar has been a trustee at the charity since January 2010 or earlier.

The Islamic Network is also organising Eden, a conference in Birmingham due to start this weekend.

Among the speakers is Abdur Raheem Green, whose own charity - the Islamic Education and Research Academy (Iera) - is currently being investigated by the Charity Commission over its governance and its policies for organising events and inviting external speakers.

An online post by Iera says it is "partnering" the Eden conference.

Abdur Raheem Green has been filmed telling a crowd in Hyde Park: "Why don't you take the Yahoudi [Jew] over there, far away, so his stench doesn't disturb us?"

On another occasion he said: "I don't really get very sad when a non-believer dies."

Mr Green says he has renounced extremism and his charity says it rejects anti-Semitism in any form.

Police alerted

After the BBC brought the Islamic Network charity to the attention of the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Mr Sardar was suspended.

A spokeswoman said: "Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust acted immediately to suspend a trust employee as soon as it became aware of these very serious allegations.

"There is no evidence that the individual's alleged membership of this third party organisation has impacted in any way on their role or duties at the trust.

"We have alerted police and we are conducting our own investigation."

A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: "Following the concerns raised with us about some of the content on the website of the registered charity Islamic Network, we are urgently assessing the risks to the charity and determining our next steps.

"While our assessment is being carried out there is nothing more we can say."

Sam Westrop, of Stand for Peace, which describes itself as a multi-faith organisation that tackles extremism, said: "We welcome the decision by the Princess Alexandra NHS Trust to suspend Shahid Sardar.

"Sadly, the Islamic Network is not the only charity involved with the promotion of hate speech against minorities."

After the BBC contacted Mr Sardar and the Islamic Network charity, its website and the website for the Eden conference ceased to be viewable.

'Immediate action'

The Islamic Network then released a statement which read: "Islamic Network (IN) is shocked to find the articles in question, which seem to have been posted by contributors to its website over a decade ago.

"We have taken immediate action to have them removed. We dissociate IN from the views expressed in those articles.

"Shortly after joining IN, the chair, Shahid Sardar, introduced clear and unequivocal policies against extremism and hate covering all activities.

"Since then we have been sifting through website articles uploaded by volunteers and removing those that we consider fall foul of this policy.

"It appears that these articles had not yet been reviewed and removed, however they were removed immediately, as soon as we were made aware of them, as they clearly do not represent our views."

It added: "We sincerely apologise to the general public for any alarm caused and state once again that nobody at IN holds or promotes such views."

The charity said it had ordered an independent inquiry into the articles and the editorial control of the website.

There is no evidence Mr Sardar personally authored any of the articles.

It describes the Eden event as "a gathering for Muslim families to relax and enjoy the excellent leisure facilities" and focus on "physical and spiritual nourishment".