Jeremy Corbyn’s peace project is backed by supporter of controversial hate preacher Abu Hamza 

Jeremy Corbyn’s peace project is backed by supporter of controversial hate preacher Abu Hamza

  • Massoud Shadjareh is the founder and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission and appears in a promotional video for Corbyn’s initiative
  • Shadjareh has previously criticised the extradition of hate preacher Abu Hamza to the United States and voiced support for the Iranian regime
  • Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project aims to ‘create hope and opportunity’

Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project is being backed by a supporter of convicted hate preacher Abu Hamza.

Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, appears in a publicity video for the ex-Labour leader’s initiative, which launched this week.

As IHRC head, Mr Shadjareh condemned the 2006 conviction of hook-handed Hamza for inciting racial hatred, as well as his extradition to the US on terror charges, where he was jailed for life in 2015. 

Mr Shadjareh is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime.

Lord Austin, of campaign group Mainstream UK, who quit Labour last year over anti-Semitism, said: ‘Labour was poisoned by extremism under Jeremy Corbyn’s toxic leadership, but people will still be shocked that they have chosen this man to help launch his new project.’ 

Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project is being backed by a supporter of convicted hate preacher Abu Hamza [File photo]

In a promotional video posted on the Peace and Justice Project Twitter feed this week, Mr Shadjareh said: ‘We welcome this initiative and we hope that it will address the desperate needs of those who are facing injustice around the world.’

He was filmed earlier this year heaping praise on Iran’s Quds commander, General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in an US drone strike in January.

Hamza was brought to justice in 2006 when he was jailed for seven years for the firebrand sermons he delivered as iman at Finsbury Park mosque in North London.

At the time the IHRC issued a statement saying it was ‘saddened by the verdict’, while Mr Shadjareh said it sent ‘another signal that Muslims are not equal in the eyes of the law of this country’.

Hamza’s extradition to the United States in 2012 to face terrorism charges was also condemned by the IHRC, which branded the process ‘a dirty mark in British judicial history’.

Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, appears in a publicity video for the ex-Labour leader's initiative, which launched this week [File photo]

Massoud Shadjareh, founder and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, appears in a publicity video for the ex-Labour leader’s initiative, which launched this week [File photo]

At the time Mr Shadjareh said: ‘The fact that Abu Hamza had to be shipped to the US confirms a dual system of justice in Britain by which European human rights standards do not apply to Muslims and politicians can shop around to look for jurisdictions where they can be more easily prosecuted.’

In January, the IHRC chairman praised Gen Soleimani at a rally outside the Shia’ Islamic Centre mosque in Maida Vale, West London.

He called the slain general, killed in a US drone strike as he travelled in convoy towards Baghdad International Airport, a martyr and told mourners they should ‘aspire to be like him’.

He added: ‘We hope and we pray and we work hard to make sure there will be many, many more Qassem Soleimanis.’

The IHRC has also been praised by Mr Corbyn, who currently has the Labour whip suspended over his response to the equality watchdog’s report into anti-Semitism in the party.

Speaking about the group two years ago, the former Labour leader said it ‘represents all that is best in Islam’, adding: ‘I like the way it works, I like the sense of values surrounding it.’