Chairman of a British-based Islamic Human Rights Commission — that has has received more than £1.4 million in charity cash — praised the fatwa on Sir Salman Rushdie less than a year ago
- The chairman of a British-based human rights organisation praised the fatwa
- Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), spoke fondly of the death sentence on Sir Salman Rushdie
- The IHRC has shown support for terrorists detained in the UK and the US
The chairman of a British-based human rights organisation which has received over £1.4 million in charity cash praised the fatwa on Sir Salman Rushdie less than a year ago, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the controversial Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), spoke fondly of the death sentence imposed on the writer in 1989 following the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses.
The IHRC, which has been described by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as representing ‘all that’s best in Islam’, is closely aligned with Iran and its leaders have previously declared the West as ‘the enemy’.
It has shown support for terrorists detained in the UK and the US, including hate preacher Abu Hamza.
Addressing an Islamophobia conference last December, Mr Shadjareh said: ‘I am old enough to remember what was happening at the time of the Rushdie affair.
Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the controversial Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)
Salman Rushdie (pictured in Los Angeles in 2013) suffered a damaged liver as well as severed nerves in an arm and eye injuries in the ferocious attack in New York last weekend
We weren’t organised as a Muslim community. We didn’t even have any huge national umbrella organisations.
‘But ordinary Muslims from all different backgrounds, even those who were not fully practicing, they came with the understanding that this was wrong and they supported the fatwa against this.’
Mr Shadjareh, 70, has previously described Iran’s infamous supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeni, who issued the fatwa, as a ‘torch of light for the whole of mankind’.
The IHRC is primarily funded by its charitable arm, the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust, which shares the same address in Wembley, North London.
The charity has funnelled more than £1.4 million in donations to the IHRC and has benefited from over £300,000 in taxpayer-funded gift aid donations over the last six years.
The IHRC Trust charity also received over £20,000 in Government grants during the pandemic.
The Charity Commission conducted a two-year investigation into the relationship between the IHRC and its trust, but did not order any changes.
The IHRC also organises the annual Al Quds march in London, at which many attendees wave the flag of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group outlawed by the Home Secretary in 2019.
In 2020, Mr Shadjareh spoke at a vigil held for the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani after he was killed by the US.
He said: ‘We work hard to make sure there will be many, many more Qasem Soleimanis. We aspire to become like him.’
He has also backed ex-Labour leader Jeremey Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project.
Sir Salman suffered a damaged liver as well as severed nerves in an arm and eye injuries in the ferocious attack in New York last weekend.
His alleged attacker, Hadi Matar, praised the Ayatollah in an interview from prison last week and described Sir Salman was ‘someone who attacked Islam’.
Mr Matar, 24, has pleaded not guilty to the attack.
Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said: ‘The IHRC is a concerning organisation that has given its support to numerous controversial and dangerous causes over the years.
‘Its chairman now being linked to pro-Rushdie fatwa rhetoric merely reinforces the idea that whatever the division of its structure, no government funding should be directed to it.’
Mr Shadjareh refused to condemn the recent attack on Sir Salman
A report published by the Henry Jackson society in 2019 concluded that the IHRC is an ‘institutionally pro-terrorist and anti-Semitic organisation’.
Last night, Mr Shadjareh refused to condemn the recent attack on Sir Salman.
He said: ‘It seems The Mail on Sunday does not understand the talk I gave in December 2021 or more broadly the issues around the ‘fatwa’ and the Muslim community’s response to it.
‘In the spirit of honesty, openness and inquiry I suggest they organise an event where I and maybe one of their contributors such as Peter Hitchens can have a discussion about the affair, and what Muslims in general and I in particular feel about the matter.’
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