On Tuesday, 22nd August 2023, a video surfaced on social media featuring an imam named Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem delivering a lecture to an audience, instructing them on the ‘correct procedure’ of stoning a woman to death. The video originates from the Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham UK which recently obtained £2.2 million (equivalent to Rs 23.24 crore) in funding from the British government in the name of ‘aiding the youth within the Birmingham community’.
Within the video, Imam Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem is audible, instructing the audience that, prior to stoning, the woman should be buried waist-deep in the ground. He said, “According to the Sharia (Islamic law), when it comes to women, there must be a hole dug in the earth, in the ground; and she must be covered up to half of the body.”
Why This Video Of An Imam's Regressive Lecture To UK Audience Has Created Ripples On Internet#TNDIGITALVIDEOS pic.twitter.com/pCpomInv90
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) August 25, 2023
The video circulated widely on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Certain users raised skepticism about whether Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem indeed endorsed the practice. However, another video of the same lecture by this imam portrays him clarifying to the audience that stoning to death serves as the penalty for ‘zina’—an Islamic legal term denoting forbidden sexual relations.
UK: Birmingham's Green Lane Mosque on how to stone a woman to death.
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) August 22, 2023
"You must first bury her up to her waist to preserve her modesty".
The British government has just given this mosque a £2.2 mn grant for "youth services". pic.twitter.com/h6KRmfHNHF
Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem said, “The person who commits zina, according to the Islamic or the Sharia, whenever the Sharia is established, the punishment (for) the adulterer – man or woman – the punishment for them is, if they are married, then they will be stoned to death. If they are unmarried, they will be beaten with 100 lashes in front of a big Muslim gathering.”
No, this is what they believe.
— habibi (@habibi_uk) August 22, 2023
In a properly constituted "Islamic state", of course.
Here's another look. "Make sure lots of Muslims see the flogging and stoning! Show no mercy!"
Funnily enough, not long ago, some lovely lads came up with just that idea in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/2AitwKtMCA
He added, “As Allah said at the beginning of the Surah An-Nur, ‘The man and woman who commit Zina – beat them and strike them with one hundred lashes. And you should not show any kind of mercy or sympathy towards them when it comes to the matter of the religion of Allah.’ Then Allah says, ‘And there should be a large group of believers witnessing their punishment’.”
The website of the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham has given an introduction about this Imam Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem on its website. It says, “Qari Zakaullah is the Head Imam and Head of Education at the Masjid. After completing his Islamic Education, he worked in numerous roles before becoming the Imam of Green Lane Masjid in the UK. He memorized the Qur’an at a very young age and has led the Taraweeh prayers on numerous occasions. He has recently completed his Masters in Islamic Education from the Markfield Institute of Higher Education.” The mission statement of this Green Lane mosque as seen below its logo in the viral video reads ‘Inspire Educate Serve’.
Markfield Institute of Higher Education is an Islamic institute in Leicestershire. The institute is considered to be the UK’s leading center for Islamic studies. It received £2.2 million from the British government as a part of the Youth Development Fund by the Department of Culture, Media, Sports, and Charity Social Investment Business.
Notably, in July 2023, the UK government allotted a £24 million fund for protecting mosques and Muslim schools in the country. UK’s security minister Tom Tugendhat said, “Places of worship will receive £24 million in funding to help keep them and their faithful safe.” This funding is a part of the UK government’s commitment to ensure that religious communities are protected from hate crimes and terror attacks. But as opposed to the objective of the funding, Imam Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem was preaching the means of stoning a woman to death in the video that recently went viral.
