Charity under investigation after it posted video in apparent support for Hamas

A charity is under investigation after it posted a video that “could suggest support for Hamas”.

The Al-Manar Centre Trust posted a video to its Facebook account in November 2023 which appears to glorify the Hamas Oct 7 attack.

At one point, the film features an artificially created image of a paraglider landing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – which could be perceived as a reference to the paragliders used to attack southern Israel on Oct 7.

The video was not created by the Cardiff-based charity but an investigation has been opened into its social media use by the Charity Commission.

The video has since been removed.

‘Victim’ confused with ‘perpetrator’

In the film, a narrator, speaking in Arabic, draws a contrast between the “Muslim fighters” in Palestine “who take justice as their slogan” and their “usurping enemies, criminals of war... Zionists, who take destruction as their slogan”.

The narrator goes on to argue that the Israel-Gaza war has been presented falsely, in which “the victim” had been confused with “the perpetrator” who is “killing prisoners and mutilating civilians”.

He then suggests that Israel is bound to suffer a similar fate to the 12th-century crusaders by invoking the medieval Battle of Hattin (1187), in which Muslim armies defeated the Crusaders to capture Jerusalem and take control of the Holy Land.

The narrator says, translated into English: “Perhaps the crusaders have forgotten about this, as their counterparts ignore it... but they forgot Hattin and its effects on their ancestors.

“And the awaited Hattin is not far from us, God willing.”

‘Trustees have removed the video’

The Al-Manar Centre was established in 2009 to advance and support Islamic education, strengthen community relationships and religious harmony in Cardiff, according to the Charity Commission.

The commission has the power to remove the charity’s trustees, establish who its members are and order its dissolution, depending on what the inquiry finds.

In a statement, the Charity Commission said: “The commission expects trustees to do all in their power to protect their charities from risk of misuse, which includes implementing procedures to prevent the promotion of views which could be considered harmful or unlawful.

“Following the commission’s intervention, the charity’s trustees have removed the video and taken steps to improve their social media protocols.

‘No place for glorification of terrorism’

“The inquiry will examine the trustees’ administration, management and governance of the charity. As part of the inquiry’s scope, the regulator will fully investigate the events leading to the posting of the video.

“The regulator will also be seeking assurances that improvements made to the charity’s social media protocols are being implemented and that these are sufficiently robust to prevent this from happening again. This includes a review to confirm that there is no other inappropriate material on any platform used by the charity.”

A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “We are aware of the allegations against this institution, which are very serious.

“The Charity Commission is right to investigate, and we are also examining whether legal action can be brought as well. At a time of skyrocketing anti-Semitic hatred in Britain, there can be no place for glorification of terrorism or religious extremism in the charitable sector.”

The Al-Manar Centre declined to comment.