The creator of the controversial “Palestine poppy” is an Oxford-educated NHS paediatrician who has written books for teenagers about Islam that argue stoning can be justified.
Abdul Qader Ismail, 41, from Birmingham, describes himself as a “middle-aged, cake-baking, horror movie-watching, British-Pakistani, Muslim” father of two.
The trainee paediatrician, who has worked at hospitals across the East Midlands, has faced accusations of “hijacking” Britain’s national symbol of remembrance. His books also express support for capital punishment under Sharia law.
He sells an enamel badge featuring a 12-sided poppy in the colours of the Palestinian flag on eBay for £1.78. The design is promoted as a “symbol of unity with the beleaguered, oppressed and occupied people of Palestine”.
The Palestine Poppy website also features a video displaying the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. Jewish organisations have interpreted the phrase as a call for Israel’s destruction.
Dr Ismail says the badges are sold on a not-for-profit basis, with proceeds donated to charities working to “end the occupation” of Palestinian territories.
However, veterans have accused the paediatrician of capitalising on Britain’s remembrance symbol and warned that sales could divert income from the Royal British Legion (RBL), which owns the rights to the “official” two-petal poppy design.
Dr Ismail’s book series, titled An Introduction to Challenging Topics for Muslim Teens, examines subjects including stoning and homosexuality for older children. The books are sold through Amazon and Waterstones and published by the Islamic publishing house Invitation Publishing.
Abdul Qader Ismail, 41, created the “Palestine poppy” design that has angered veterans
The badge is listed on eBay for £1.78 and sold on a “not-for-profit” basis, with proceeds donated to charities supporting Palestinian people
In the first volume, Dr Ismail writes that punishments such as stoning are justified because they deter Muslims from forbidden acts and ultimately prevent them from “mov[ing] away from Islam”.
He retells a religious account of a man who was stoned to death after asking to be “purified” for committing adultery. Following his death, the man was said to be “swimming in the rivers of paradise”.
“These punishments are meant to serve as a deterrent… and any excuse is found not to apply them,” he wrote.
“Even when they are put into practice it is still a blessing from Allah, since it will mean we pay for our sins in this life and avoid punishment in the hereafter.”
In the second volume, Dr Ismail describes homosexual feelings and gender dysphoria as “tests from Allah” and suggests that people experiencing them should pray for guidance.
He does, however, write that transgender and gay people should not be persecuted. He also says Muslims should follow the laws of the country where they live rather than attempting to impose Sharia law themselves.
On the Palestine Poppy website, Dr Ismail describes the poppy as the “national flower of Palestine” and states that an estimated 12,000 Palestinians are believed to have fought against the Nazis during the Second World War.
The Palestine Poppy website includes a promotional video featuring the controversial slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”
Dr Ismail has also written a series of books about Islam for teenagers and children, including passages that justify capital punishment under Sharia law
He said he expected the badge to become an “anti-apartheid symbol… to be worn until the people of Palestine have their freedom”.
One of the charities benefitting from the sales of the badges is Friends of Al-Aqsa, an organisation described as ‘far-Left and Islamist’ in a 2024 Home Office report whose founder Ismail Patel once said ‘we are all Hamas’.
The RBL says that, as an organisation, it is ‘non-partisan and non-sectarian’, and that the poppy is a ‘unifier of people and communities’.
But decorated Iraq veteran Trevor Coult MC told LBC yesterday that he believed the badge ‘adds no value’ and was ‘just there, in my opinion, to cause hatred’.
He added: ‘You’ve got people out there that just want to cause division and cause hurt. There’s no money from this poppy sale going towards helping any veterans.’
The row comes just a week after pro-Palestine protesters trampled on poppy wreaths as they climbed London’s Battle of Britain monument – days after the three-year anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks in Israel.
According to an online CV, Dr Ismail graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in medicine in 2010, and later completed a PhD at the University of Leicester. He is listed as the co-author of dozens of articles on neonatal medicine.
The Spectator reports that Dr Ismail is a member of the Green Party and that he sponsored the controversial ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion at the party conference that was described by Prime Minister Andy Burnham as ‘anti-Semitic’.
It has been reported that Dr Ismail backed the controversial ‘Zionism is racism’ motion proposed at the Green Party conference by Lubna Speitan (pictured)
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It has since emerged that the motion’s proposer, Lubna Speitan, was described in US court documents as the ‘friend’ of a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist and once said she would be ‘happily labelled an “anti-Semitic Hamas terrorist”‘.
A copy of the conference’s agenda, seen by the Daily Mail, also lists Dr Ismail as the sponsor of two other motions – calling for an end to sanctions on Iran and for councils to engage in BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) practices that hurt Israeli businesses.
Records show the Palestine Poppy website was established at the end of 2023. The pins were listed for sale on eBay by the end of summer 2024.
They are presently described as ‘out of stock’.
The RBL told GB News that ‘people are free to choose to wear different poppies’ – though the charity itself was criticised in 2024 after releasing a poppy badge with a Pride flag attached.
The Daily Mail has contacted Dr Ismail for comment.
