The UK’s National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) recently found itself at the center of controversy after issuing a policy paper that labeled the Israeli military as a ‘Zionist terrorist group’ and expressed support for Hamas. This document, which has since been removed, also characterized Zionism as a form of anti-Muslim hatred and questioned the authenticity of reports regarding the incidents on October 7.
The release of this document has sparked significant concern over the ability of law enforcement officers to remain neutral. In response, the Campaign Against Antisemitism has called for an investigation, asserting that British Jews have historically experienced biased policing, where antisemitic crimes often go unaddressed. The organization is urging that those responsible for the document be dismissed from the police force.
This incident emerges in the wake of another controversial case involving the police. The handling of the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak has drawn public scrutiny. Nowak, a student at Southampton University, was fatally stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man. Amidst the chaos, police arrested Nowak on allegations of racial abuse while he was critically wounded, following Digwa’s false claim that Nowak had removed his turban.
They said that ‘British Jews have long suffered two-tier policing that sees anti-semitic crime go unpunished’ and called for the people behind the document to be sacked from the police.
It comes amid a row prompted by how police officers handled the murder of Henry Nowak, 18, who was arrested for alleged racial abuse while he lay dying from stab wounds.
The Southampton University student was knifed to death by Sikh man Vickrum Digwa, 23, who falsely claimed to police that Mr Nowak had pulled off his turban.
Henry Nowak, 18, was a finance student at the University of Southampton and was described as ‘kind and talented’ by his family
Police bodycam footage shows innocent victim Henry Nowak, 18, being forced into handcuffs by officers after he was stabbed repeatedly by a knife-obsessed Sikh man
The Spectator magazine first uncovered the policy paper on NAMP’s website last year but it has since been taken down.
It was written by Khaldoun Kabbani, its then vice-president, and addressed ‘confronting anti-Muslim hatred’ in Britain.
NAMP is reportedly affiliated to more than a dozen police forces around the UK, including West Midlands police, West Yorkshire police, Greater Manchester police and Police Scotland.
The College of Policing, which sets police standards, says NAMP is ‘an important part of policing’ which plays ‘a crucial role in supporting our workforce’.
Amid the claims in the organisation’s document were that ‘Zionists’ are guilty of ‘misusing the Holocaust’ when describing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It also states that after the October 7 attack, Israel ‘began circulating alarming and unverified stories about acts of violence by Hamas, including claims of beheadings and assaults’.
Stephen Silverman, director of investigations and enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, raised concerns that such a document was published.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘The people responsible for publishing this extremist screed on the official police.uk web domain are unfit to be police officers and must be immediately investigated by their respective forces’ professional standards departments and dismissed.
‘This is every bit as scandalous as the West Midlands Police debacle and even more so – this is not police acquiescence to Islamist extremism, it is evidence that a major national policing association has been infiltrated by or is controlled by Islamists.
Campaign Against Antisemitism has called on Home Secretary to launch an investigation
‘British Jews have long suffered two-tier policing that sees anti-semitic crime go unpunished and faith in the police has dropped to its lowest level since our polling began.
‘Saying that the movement for Jewish self-determination contributes to anti-Muslim hatred and that even talking about Hamas’ October 7 atrocity should be stopped is the kind of extremism we would expect to read in the opening of the prosecution case against an antisemite, not on the national police web domain.
‘We are writing to the Home Secretary to ensure that this clear threat to British policing results in a clear message being sent.
‘This cannot pass with the document being quietly deleted.’
A Board of Deputies spokesman added: ‘This disturbing document is full of falsehoods, including about Jewish identity and history and about the nature of anti-semitism.
‘If this is being circulated among officers, it poses a direct challenge to the integrity of policing.
‘We will be taking this issue up with the relevant bodies within the police and government, to find out how this document came about, how it has been used, and how to ensure that the valued relationships of trust between British Jews and the police are not being undermined.’
NAMP and Shabana Mahmood have been approached for comment.
