The Islamic Centre of England faces fresh scrutiny from the Charity Commission after it was found to be selling merchandise glorifying Hezbollah and the Iranian regime at a public event on its premises.
The registered charity, situated in the prosperous north-west London neighbourhood of Maida Vale, hosted what it called a “community bazaar” on December 14 last year.
The centre promoted the gathering as a “vibrant space for cultural interaction, the exchange of knowledge and experiences, and the strengthening of national and religious identity”.
However, a dossier of photographs obtained by The Telegraph has exposed that stallholders were offering phone cases bearing images of Hassan Nasrallah, the late Hezbollah leader killed by Israel in 2024, alongside key rings expressing devotion to Iran’s supreme leader.
The phone cases displayed silhouette photographs of Nasrallah, the former secretary-general of the terrorist organisation proscribed by the British government.
Stickers featuring what appeared to be silhouettes of other militant commanders were also available, including Qassem Soleimani, the IRGC Quds Force chief killed in an American air strike in January 2020.
Key rings on sale carried inscriptions declaring loyalty to Ali Khamenei, with one reading “With the kindness of God, Seyyed Ali is our leader”.
Another carried the phrase “Ba Velayet ta Shahadat”, an expression rooted in Shia Islamic and Iranian revolutionary ideology that signifies absolute allegiance to the supreme leader.
Portraits of Khamenei and his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini adorned the walls prominently.
Lord Walney, a former government adviser on political violence, described the findings in stark terms: “This dossier suggests that the Islamic Centre of England’s bazaar was an Aladdin’s cave of extremist content.”
“Some of the material for sale may contravene terrorism laws, it is certainly deeply inappropriate for an organisation that remains a registered charity despite controversy after controversy,” he warned.
He added that failure to act would expose “a deep weakness in Britain’s oversight of charities which can too easily be exploited by extremists”.
Shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns MP demanded the centre’s closure, stating: “These latest revelations of terrorist tat being sold by the Islamic Centre of England are yet more evidence of why the centre must be closed and those responsible for propagating terrorist propaganda face the law.”
The centre has faced repeated controversy since January 2020, when it organised a candlelit vigil for Soleimani, describing him as a “dedicated soldier of Islam” and a “great martyr”.
That event, along with another gathering that eulogised the slain general, prompted an official warning from the charity watchdog.
In October 2022, the centre’s director Seyed Hashem Moosavi delivered a speech branding Iranian protesters “enemies” and “soldiers of Satan”, while accusing women who declined to wear hijabs of spreading “poison”.
The Charity Commission subsequently launched a full statutory inquiry the following month, which could ultimately result in the organisation losing its charitable status.
A spokesman for the centre stated: “The trustees take all concerns about the centre very seriously. We are currently reviewing matters pertaining to the Dec 14 event and, in light of this, are unable to comment further at this time.”
