Police force at centre of Allison Pearson row did not investigate controversial imam

Users responding to the post tagged Essex Police’s X account, urging it to “investigate”, but the force said this cannot be used as a report of a crime.

Essex Police has come under scrutiny over its decision to investigate Pearson, a Telegraph columnist, over an allegedly offensive tweet a year ago.

It can now be revealed that, three days before Pearson tweeted, the footage of Ad-Duha Muhammad’s comments was flagged to the force on social media.

Speaking in Arabic, he called in prayer: “O Allah, destroy the Zionists who fight your allies and obstruct your path. O Allah, seize them with a mighty and powerful grip, O Lord of the worlds, and unleash upon them your punishment that cannot be repelled by the criminal people.”

In the footage, viewed more than 6,000 times, he called for Allah to “defeat the enemy” and to “support their fighters” and to “grant us victory over the disbelieving people”.

In another clip, in which he spoke in English, he said the word jihad had been “polluted” in “the age of counter-terrorism”, and appeared to suggest that fighting against Israel in Gaza was “virtuous”.

Essex Police has said it can only effectively triage, record and assess potential crimes if they are reported by phone or through its website. What a technicality to use to slither out of resonsibility. 

However, an email shows that the force previously defended the same imam’s right to freedom of expression. Following a complaint including about a selection of his other comments in video footage, Chelmsford residents were told by a district commander in November 2022 that no criminal offences had taken place.

“As you will be aware, the footage is a compilation of numerous excerpts of interviews and recorded preaching in which views that may be contrary to the beliefs of others are outlined,” the officer wrote. “The rights of all individuals to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which includes in public or private, and in worship, teaching practice and observance is one that is enshrined under Article Nine of the Human Rights Act. And whilst you are of course afforded the right to disagree with the views of others where no legislative UK criminal offences have taken place, either through the words used or conduct displayed, then as the police we are unable to take any action.” But just let a Christian preacher mention that certain, now socially acceptable lifestyles, are considered sinful by Biblical teaching (and we are all sinners) or that Islam’s teachings blaspheme Our Saviour Jesus Christ and the ton of bricks heads towards them.

The imam has made a series of controversial comments in the past, including in 2013 that Muslim girls should have children instead of careers and that homosexuality was “a vice among vices”, adding that the spread of HIV and AIDS were down to “general moral decline”.

On Monday, Roger Hirst, the police, fire and crime commissioner for Essex, cancelled a public meeting on community safety at Hamptons Sports and Leisure Centre, with his office saying it was postponed in the “interests of public safety” and it was “deeply disappointed” to move the meeting.

Residents who had turned up accused Mr Hirst of running scared of scrutiny and said they were surprised by the choice of location, noting that the leisure centre had been used by Ad-Duha Muhammad for controversial sermons.

Ayman Syed, the chairman of the Chelmsford Muslim Society, said: “We are a community organisation supporting our local community irrespective of who they are, and at no point have any individuals or organisations used our premises for any activities that may be construed as unlawful.”