But where did that bit of hate speech come from? What kind of seething bigot even comes up with stuff like that?
“Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews…” — Qur’an 5:82
“Banned hate preacher still broadcasting after ‘Jews are enemy of Islam’ claim,” by Tom Harper for the Evening Standard, February 11 (thanks to all who sent this in):
A radical preacher banned from entering the country may now lose the platform to broadcast messages of hate to British television screens.
Zakir Naik – who has claimed that “every Muslim should be a terrorist” – was banned from coming to Britain last June by Theresa May in one of her first major acts as Home Secretary.
But eight months on, the 45-year-old cleric is still a key figure in a company that holds an Ofcom-approved licence for Peace TV.
Now, the broadcasting watchdog has confirmed it is investigating the satellite channel, broadcast in English and Urdu, after receiving a complaint from a viewer over its extremist messages.
Programmes on Peace TV have included praise for “mujahideen” fighting British troops in Iraq, labelled Jews as an “enemy of Islam” and made claims about the 9/11 terror attacks being an “inside job”.
Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, former shadow minister for security, said: “The Home Secretary dealt with Naik extremely effectively. I think she will be furious to discover he still has a licence to spread his poison on satellite television. Ofcom should revoke it immediately.”
Naik was banned from entering the country after it was judged that his presence was “not conducive to the public good”.
The decision, later upheld by the High Court, was based on a sermon the Mumbai-based preacher had posted on the internet during which he said “every Muslim should be a terrorist”.
Naik has also been filmed saying: “There are many Jews who are good to Muslims, but as a whole the Koran tells us, as a whole, they will be our staunchest enemy.”
Qur’an 5:82.