The leader of Britain’s largest Muslim charity has quit after putting antisemitic posts on social media.
Heshmat Khalifa , a former trustee and director of Islamic Relief Worldwide, said the Jews are ‘grandchildren of monkeys and pigs.’
Mr Khalifa also described Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as a ‘Zionist pimp’ on his Facebook page, as reported by The Times. And he called the Muslim president – who ousted President Morsi in July 2013 – a ‘pimp son of the Jews’ and a ‘Zionist criminal’.
There were other posts on his page, written in Arabic, that promoted the work of the charity that has 100 offices in 40 countries worldwide. His Facebook page has now been taken down.
The 63-year-old had been with the charity since 1999 and has held a number of senior roles within the organisation which over the past five years has an annual income of £570million (626 million Euros).
Mr Khalifa – who until recently was Chairman of Islamic Relief Australia – also used social media to described Hamas as ‘the purest resistance movement in modern history’.
After being confronted with the posts by The Times Mr Khalifa resigned, saying that he was sorry for publishing the posts on social media and that he regrets his actions.
He said: ‘I did not intend to insult the Jewish community and neither do I hold views which are antisemitic. ‘I have dedicated much of my life’s work to promoting tolerance and freedom of religion and beliefs.’
Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities in the world, told the newspaper that the Facebook posts, which were made between 2013 and 2015, ‘contravene the values and principles of Islamic Relief Worldwide’.
The organisation added: ‘Heshmat Khalifa has resigned from the board of trustees of Islamic Relief Worldwide with immediate effect.
‘He will also play no further part in any other Islamic Relief boards. ‘We reject and condemn terrorism and believe all forms of discrimination — including antisemitism — are unacceptable.’
The Charity Commission has now opened a compliance case into Islamic Relief.
