Extremism Allegations Resurface as MAB Director Dismisses October 7 Atrocities as ‘Lies’

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Title: Extremism Allegations Resurface as MAB Director Dismisses October 7 Atrocities as ‘Lies’

 

Anas Altikriti, a former president and current director of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), is facing renewed scrutiny after dismissing the atrocities committed on October 7, 2023, as falsehoods and defending the taking of hostages by Hamas as a legitimate act of resistance. These comments have prompted further concerns over the ideological leanings of MAB, an organization that has long denied any extremist affiliations.

 

Altikriti, a British Iraqi and founder of the Cordoba Foundation, which has also been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, referred to the well-documented mass killings and rapes of Israeli citizens by Hamas fighters on October 7 as “a lie.” In a video interview from November 2023, he said: “The taking of hostages is a very important part of any strategic sort of military action or act of resistance or the such because for every hostage you can then negotiate. You have personnel who are vital and crucial at least in your thinking and your mind to your adversary, to your enemy, so it’s a negotiating power.”

 

He went on to say: “For the people of Gaza, for Hamas, for the resistance, call them as you may, a hostage is very, very valuable, and therefore they will be looked after, they will be cared for, they will be cared for even more than the actual citizens of Gaza simply because they provide cover for the resistance, they provide a negotiating card once the battle arrives at a point where people are sitting around the table or talking at least about some sort of deal. Therefore those hostages were taken by Hamas in order to negotiate more freedoms, more rights, the breakout of this prison that we call Gaza, this concentration camp that we call Gaza.”

 

 

Altikriti’s statements, which include outright denials of rape and mass murder, have drawn widespread criticism. In December 2023, he reacted to the UK government’s designation of Hamas as a terrorist group by claiming, “Allegations of rape made by Israel are false. It’s a lie… Just like every other allegation made by Israel turns out to be a lie, including the mass slaughter of Israeli citizens on the 7th of October. That too was a lie.”

 

On the day of the attacks, Altikriti took to social media to express support for the Hamas operation. “What did we think was going to happen? That Palestinians would stay silent whilst forever subjugated, victimised, abused, violated, murdered and tortured?! This is for every time western governments stayed silent and whitewashed Israel’s crimes and violations,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

 

Despite these remarks, the MAB has attempted to distance itself from Altikriti, asserting in a public statement that he “does not speak for, nor represent the views of the MAB.” However, according to Companies House, Altikriti remains not only a director but is also designated as the organization’s sole “person with significant control.”

 

Founded in 1997, the MAB presents itself as a platform for British Muslims seeking to contribute positively to society. Yet the organization’s foundations and leadership have been subjects of repeated scrutiny. It was originally established by Muhammad Kathem Sawalha, a former Hamas chief, and co-organized a major pro-Palestine rally in London just one month after the October 7 massacre.

 

A 2015 parliamentary report commissioned by then-Prime Minister David Cameron concluded that MAB was, in its early years, “dominated” by the Muslim Brotherhood — a group outlawed by multiple Middle Eastern governments, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The same report noted the group’s links to the Cordoba Foundation, which Altikriti heads, and which Cameron previously labeled a front for the Brotherhood.

 

The government’s concerns about MAB’s ideological affiliations have continued into recent years. In 2023, Michael Gove proposed in Parliament that the organization be considered for inclusion under a newly defined list of “extremist” groups, amid growing alarm about statements and associations that critics argue undermine efforts to combat terrorism in the UK.

 

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Labour Faces Ongoing Threat From Gaza-Backed Independents in Local Elections

 

  Adpated by ASEAN Now from The Telegraph  2025-05-02