Corbyn leaflet endorsed by mosque chairman who praised Hamas founder
Jeremy Corbyn’s top endorsement on his campaign leaflet is from a prominent mosque chairman who has previously praised the founder of Hamas.
The former Labour leader, who is running as an independent candidate in his north London seat of Islington North, launched his campaign this week.
His leaflet, which was delivered to thousands of homes across his constituency on Thursday, features a list of local figures who are supporting his attempt to defend his seat.
The top name on the list of endorsements is Mohammed Kozbar of Finsbury Park mosque, who says: “Jeremy is full of humanity and compassion. He is a fantastic MP who cares about everyone in his community.”
Last year, Mr Kozbar’s past praise for Hamas’s founder Sheikh Yassin as “the master of the martyrs of the resistance” was cited in an official counter-extremism review.
An official review of Prevent, the government’s counter-extremism programme, raised concerns that the London branch of the National Association of Muslim Police had praised Mr Kozbar despite evidence that in 2015 he had “previously supported the founder … of Hamas”. Hamas was proscribed as a terror group in its entirety six years later in 2021.
In February, The Telegraph revealed that Mr Kozbar was removed as an adviser to the Metropolitan Police.
Scotland Yard said it had decided to “cease engagement” with him “after a social media post from late January 2024 was brought to our attention and reviewed”.
Mr Kozbar had previously been a member of the force’s London Muslim Communities Forum, a strategic advisory body the Met has said exists to “inform and help shape police policy and procedure at a strategic level”.
In January, The Telegraph disclosed that Mr Kozbar had “liked” a post on X, formerly Twitter, where the leader of an Islamist extremist group complained he can no longer speak for the body after it was proscribed.
Dr Wahid Shaida, a former head of the Hizb ut-Tahrir group, said he could no longer speak on its behalf but vowed to “continue to speak about things I believe in”.
Mr Corbyn officially launched his campaign this week at the Brickworks Community Centre in north London. He told the 200-strong crowd that, if elected, he would be an “independent voice, for equality, for democracy, and for peace”.
His decision to run as an independent candidate presents an unwelcome distraction for Sir Keir Starmer and risks exacerbating splits between the Labour leadership and the Left wing of the party.
The Labour leader has also come under pressure from the Left in recent days amid allegations that a “purge” of Left-wing candidates is underway ahead of the election.
In his leaflet, Mr Corbyn lists his “values” which range from a “more equal society” to “peace and human rights”.
The leaflet also features a timeline from 1983 – when he was first elected as the Labour MP for Islington North – to the present. The timeline highlights a series of key dates during his 40-year political career, but fails to mention his time as the Labour leader.
Mr Kozbar did not respond to requests for comment but has previously claimed he was being subjected to “repeated attempts to smear me as I pursue work to foster better community relations”.
He has said: “I condemn the targeting of all civilians, whoever they are. It is criminal to indiscriminately murder innocent men, women, and children.” He has said he supports “the Palestinian people and their quest for freedom, as clearly expressed as a basic right within international law”.
Addressing his comments about the founder of Hamas, he said: “I spoke on the extrajudicial assassination of a paraplegic man who was wheelchair-bound ... my comments were made well before this organisation [Hamas] was proscribed.”