Charity boss’s links to online hate

A charity handing out millions of pounds to mosques and other organisations in Britain is run by a former Qatari official who founded a website that instructed Muslims to hate Jews and Christians, the Telegraph can disclose.

Yousef al-Kuwari is the chief executive of Qatar Charity UK, whose work includes the construction of a new mosque in the north of England.

He previously founded Islamweb, a website that issued edicts stating that it is “forbidden” to swear an oath to gain British citizenship. In June, it warned of Jews and Christians: “It is incumbent to hate them for the sake of Allah.”

Qatar Charity UK is the British arm of Qatar Charity, a Doha charity which has been designated a proscribed organisation by neighbouring Gulf states.

Separately, in an employment tribunal claim against the UK charity, a former staff member accused Fadi Itani, its deputy director general, of “bullying and harassment” and warning non-Muslims who failed to convert to Islam would be “punished”.

Between 1998 and 2010 fatwas posted on the website included ones calling on all citizens to “wage jihad by every means against the Zionist occupation and aggression” and stating that “living in non-Muslim countries is forbidden except for a dire need”. 

Salman Mujtaba worked for Qatar Charity UK as development manager for nine months until January. In legal claims, he and Chris Goward, its former communications manager, accuse Mr Itani of “routinely belittling, undermining and mocking them and other non-Arab employees”. 

“Mr Itani would on numerous occasions mention converting non-Muslims including the non-Muslim staff, citing if they did not they would be punished.”

Qatar Charity UK denied the allegations by Mr Mujtaba and Mr Goward “in their entirety” and “will vigorously defend the claims”, but could not comment further because of “ongoing employment tribunal proceedings”.