An American preacher known for expressing support for Hamas and accused of promoting extreme, antisemitic views is scheduled to visit the UK next weekend, sparking calls for his visa to be rescinded.
Mohamed Baajour, originally from Lebanon and residing in the US for over 30 years, plans to deliver speeches in London, Manchester, and Leicester.
His UK visit, organized over three days with sponsorship from the charity Muslim Aid, includes a stop at Didsbury Mosque. This mosque is known for being a place of worship for Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi and his family before the tragic 2017 incident.
Baajour, billed as a motivational speaker, holds the position of director of education at the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) in Texas. The center recently faced scrutiny when Texas Governor Greg Abbott accused it of supporting the implementation of Sharia law.
In several Muslim countries, Sharia law can involve severe penalties such as stoning for offenses like adultery and homosexuality.
The accusations prompted an investigation into EPIC, but officials discovered no wrongdoing. EPIC maintains its status as a law-abiding non-profit organization, as confirmed in a social media statement.
The cleric behind the organisation, Yasir Qadhi – who works closely with Baajour – has a decades-old record of preaching hatred, homophobia and Holocaust-denial to his followers.
In one of his chilling diatribes, Qadhi states that Jewish people have infiltrated religious departments of American universities in a bid to ‘destroy’ Muslims, while he has also previously called for the execution of gay people and adulterers.
Baajour has been found to hold similar fundamentalist views as evidenced in recorded talks widely available to view online.
American Islamist preacher Mohamed Baajour, who has praised Hamas and is accused of spreading ‘fundamentalist, antisemitic poison’, is set to arrive in Britain next weekend
A poster advertising Baajour’s UK tour, which will stop in London, Manchester and Leicester
Baajour is director of education at the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) in Texas. The organisation recently came under scrutiny after state Governor Greg Abbott accused EPIC of wanting to enforce Sharia law
During one lecture delivered in November in South Africa, Baajour can be heard lamenting ‘Zionist interference’.
Noting the country’s diamond resources, he said Zionists ‘want to put their nose in and ruin [South Africa], just like they ruined every other country’.
He has also openly praised Hamas. In a lecture delivered in November 2023, just weeks after October 7 terror attack on Israel, Baajour said of the terror group’s impact: ‘They have exposed the enemy. They have ruined their economy. They have thrown horror in their hearts.’
And when he mentioned the Palestinians killed as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas, Baajour said ‘every true Muslim would love to have such a death’.
Elsewhere, Baajour congratulated the ‘people of Gaza’ for ‘scarring the enemy, a scar that will never, ever be forgotten’, adding that they had ‘reminded us what “honour” means. Glad tidings!’
He has referred to the Hamas terrorists as ‘mujahideen’ or resistance fighters, adding: ‘Allah, give victory to the mujahideen everywhere.’
Nick Timothy, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, has called on the Home Secretary to refuse Baajour’s entry to the UK.
Nick Timothy, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, has called on the Home Secretary to refuse Baajour’s entry to the UK
MP Nick Timothy has called for Baajour to be banned from Britain over his ‘shameless anti-Semitic rhetoric’ and praise for Hamas
Writing on X he said: ‘Baajour has openly and proudly praised horrific violence. The Islamists here want him to help them remake Britain. We must stop them.
‘The Home Secretary must act and exclude Baajour and every hate preacher from our shores.’
The MP added in his letter to Mrs Mahmood that while free speech and open debate should be encouraged, ‘this is not legitimate discourse.’
He added: ‘Hate preachers are being given a platform to actively promote violence and spread hate.
‘The British public has a right to expect that our government will take decisive action to prevent extremists from freely entering our country.’
Mr Timothy also called for Muslim Aid ‘and other organisations facilitating tours by hate preachers who promote extremist views’ to be stripped of their charitable status.
News of Baajour’s planned tour of the UK comes just days after the Home Secretary revoked a travel visa for Dr Shadee Elmasry, a US-based Islamic scholar who praised Hamas and said Israel was behind the 9/11 terror attacks.
Elmasry had been due to speak in Birmingham, Bolton and Ilford during a three-day event organised by Muslim charity Global Relief Trust.
EPIC cleric Yasir Qadhi, who works closely with Baajour, has a decades-old record of preaching hatred, homophobia and Holocaust-denial to his followers
A day after the terrorist attack, Elmasry tweeted: ‘They [Israel] are all in this (fake or real) state of shock that the people of Gaza finally punched back (after 50 years). In contrast, the very same people would celebrate a similar kind of attack from Ukraine against Putin.’
In another post, he wrote: ‘It’s conceivable and maybe even expected that a legitimate resistant [sic] movement will make condemnable mistakes or go to excesses every once in a while. That doesn’t take anything away from the morality of their resistance.’
Mr Timothy, who urged the Government to bar Elmasry from the UK, had argued that allowing him to speak in Britain was effectively ‘giving a platform to incitement and violent extremism’.
Daily Mail has contacted EPIC and Baajour for comment.
