Overview

• The Charity Commission has formally warned Nottingham Islam Information Point for hosting an “inflammatory and divisive” sermon by trustee Harun Abdur Rashid Holmes on October 13, 2023.
• Holmes, who was not a trained imam, was disqualified for three years for misconduct and mismanagement after the sermon failed to further the charity’s relief objectives.
• The sermon included the phrase “the hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until a Jew hides behind a rock or a tree,” which the commission found lacked proper context and incited division.
• The commission’s formal warning mandates the charity to adopt robust event-hosting and speaker-vetting policies to prevent future breaches.
• This case is part of a broader crackdown on over 300 UK charities linked to the Middle East conflict that have been examined under enhanced statutory powers.