Muslim charity boss quits after calling Jews 'grandchildren of monkeys and pigs'
The leader of Britain’s largest Muslim charity has stepped down from his role after making antisemitic posts on his Facebook page.
Heshmat Khalifa, who was a trustee and director of Islamic Relief Worldwide, quit after offensive remarks written between 2013 and 2015 came to light this week.
An investigation by The Times showed various harmful posts on Khalifa’s Facebook page, one stating that the Jews are ‘grandchildren of monkeys and pigs’ as well as another describing Egypt’s Muslim president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as a ‘Zionist pimp’.
His Facebook page has now been taken down.
Khalifa, 63, had been with the charity since 1999 and has held a number of senior roles within the organisation which over the past five years.
With an annual income of over £570million, Islamic Relief is one of the largest Muslim charities in the world. According to its website, its mission is to ‘enable people to respond rapidly to disasters and fight poverty through our Islamic values, expertise and global reach.’
The Charity Commission has now opened a compliance case into the organisation.
When confronted with his offensive words, Khalifa stated that he did he was sorry for publishing the posts and 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 Worldwide, which has headquarters in Birmingham, told the newspaper that the Facebook posts ‘contravene the values and principles’ of
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.’
An investigation by The Times showed various harmful posts on Khalifa’s Facebook page, one stating that the Jews are ‘grandchildren of monkeys and pigs’ as well as another describing Egypt’s Muslim president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as a ‘Zionist pimp’.
His Facebook page has now been taken down.
Khalifa, 63, had been with the charity since 1999 and has held a number of senior roles within the organisation which over the past five years.
With an annual income of over £570million, Islamic Relief is one of the largest Muslim charities in the world. According to its website, its mission is to ‘enable people to respond rapidly to disasters and fight poverty through our Islamic values, expertise and global reach.’
The Charity Commission has now opened a compliance case into the organisation.
When confronted with his offensive words, Khalifa stated that he did he was sorry for publishing the posts and 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 Worldwide, which has headquarters in Birmingham, told the newspaper that the Facebook posts ‘contravene the values and principles’ of
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.’