TikTok lawyer endorsed by Galloway for mayoral election says he was sent by Allah to fight Zionism

A TikTok lawyer endorsed by George Galloway for the West Midlands mayoral election has said he believes he has been chosen by Allah to “challenge the Zionist regime”.

Akhmed Yakoob, a social media savvy criminal defence lawyer who drives a Lamborghini, has claimed that Zionists “control everything” and that it is a “fascist ideology”.

The comments have led to allegations that Mr Yakoob’s “wild rhetoric” could “damage social cohesion”.

A prolific user of social media, he has more than 177,000 followers on TikTok and uses the platform to promote his business with striking video clips featuring his signature catchphrase: “There is a defence for every offence”.

The approach has brought him considerable financial success, with Mr Yakoob telling The Sun last year that he has a car collection worth £1 million, including two Lamborghinis, a Mercedes Benz G-Class and a Ferrari F8.

Mr Yakoob is now making a foray into politics which he says is in response to Israel’s military actions in Gaza. He is standing in the election on May 2 to be the West Midlands mayor, but also plans to run against Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, in the general election in Birmingham Ladywood –  a constituency with a large Muslim community.

Although running as an independent, he has been endorsed by George Galloway, the veteran hard-Left politician who returned to Parliament as the MP for Rochdale in February.

Mr Yakoob has made a string of controversial comments about Zionism. In a speech in a Dewsbury mosque earlier this month, he said: “I know now why Allah has put me in this position, it’s to challenge the Zionist regime, challenge the elites of this country and the world,” he said. “One thing we have over them is we have Islam. Zionists have no deen [faith], no Islam.

“We are not anti-Semitic, no, we are anti-Zionism,” he said. He claimed that Zionists were “the enemies not only of Islam” but “of Christianity, and they are the enemy of Judaism”. He added: “We live in a world that slowly is getting controlled by these elites.”

In the same speech, he claimed that Zionists might try to assassinate him. He said: “I’ve told my family members that if something happens to me, if there’s a fake case against me or if I get shot and die, which is a possibility when you go up against the Zionists, just know that I went on the right path and the true path.”

Recording a podcast with five other male Muslim social media influencers last month, Mr Yakoob claimed that Zionists “control everything now” and said: “Zionism is a fascist ideology”.

Mr Yakoob sat by as fellow guests on the podcast made a series of outlandish remarks, including that Zionism is a “a bit like the Nazis”, that “Zionists” were behind falling attendance in Christian churches because they had “watered down people’s religious values”, and the claim that “October 7 was a f—--- set up” by Israel. He did not challenge the comments.

On X, previously known as Twitter, Mr Yakoob has criticised Rishi Sunak giving money to the Community Security Trust – the charity that exists to protect British Jews from anti-Semitism. He tweeted in March: “Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges £54 million for the pro-Israel Zionist group @‌CST_UK. At a time when the UK is suffering with rise of cost of living, recession, inflation and austerity.”

Podcast

In February he tweeted: “Over one million Palestinians were forced to leave their homes in Gaza, forced to flee to Rafah, and now they are being bombed indiscriminately by the enemies of Allah. May Allah fight those who are fighting his believers.”

Recording another podcast in November, he said he would “never get into a debate with a Zionist” because “it’s just not worth it”. “Why waste your time… bees don’t waste their time explaining to flies that honey is better than s---.”

Alan Mendoza, the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society think-tank, said: “Mr Yakoob has a track record of wild rhetoric and a worrying obsession with ‘Zionists’.

“It appears obvious that rather than uniting local people, with his campaign he is looking to divide them. By making an obviously sectarian appeal, he threatens to damage social cohesion at a time when there are already concerns about how various communities in the UK differ profoundly in their views from their neighbours.”

A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This rhetoric is shocking.”

Mr Yakoob was contacted for comment.