Amidst the ongoing war between Hamas and the State of Israel, the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom downplayed open calls for jihad raised by Hamas supporters in Central London.
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared a video wherein members of a radical Islamist outfit named ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir’ were seen proclaiming ‘jihad’ against the State of Israel.
“What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?” an Islamist was heard saying in the viral video. The mob of Hamas supporters cheered in unison, “Jihad, Jihad, Jihad.”
"What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?"
— Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) October 21, 2023
"Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!"
From the Hizb ut Tahrir demonstration pic.twitter.com/Ba5CfkiOsy
Instead of taking cognisance of the matter, the UK’s Metropolitan Police came out in defence of the Islamists and said that calls for jihad against Israel had nothing to do with terrorism.
In a contentious tweet, it said, “The word jihad has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. We have specialist counter-terrorism officers here in the operations room who have particular knowledge in this area.”
“They have assessed this video, filmed at the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in central London today, and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip,” the police downplayed the act of Hamas supporters.
The word jihad has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. We have specialist counter terrorism officers here in the operations room who have particular knowledge in this area.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 21, 2023
They have assessed this video, filmed at the Hizb…
“However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers have identified the man involved and will be speaking to him shorty to discourage any repeat of similar chanting,” it added.
It must be mentioned that while Jihad means ‘struggle’ or ‘fight’ in Arabic, it implies spreading Islam through violent conquest in the religious context.
The Metropolitan police also attempted to give a clean chit to an Islamist, who was seen waving a jihadist flag in support of Hamas terrorists. It alleged, “The flags in this photo are not those of ISIS. They are the ‘shahada’ which is a declaration of faith in Islam.”
The flags in this photo are not those of ISIS. They are the ‘shahada’ which is a declaration of faith in Islam. ISIS flags may appear similar but are not the same. We have specialist officers with knowledge of flags working on this operation to assist with these assessments.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 21, 2023
“ISIS flags may appear similar but are not the same. We have specialist officers with knowledge of flags working on this operation to assist with these assessments,” the cops claimed. It must be mentioned that the X user did not make any mention of ISIS and had merely pointed out about the vicious Islamist sloganeering.
The Metropolitan police went out of their way to claim that the flag raised at the pro-Hamas rally was not dangerous and that it did not belong to ISIS. Netizens were forced to add community notes to the response of the cops, which negated their attempt to downplay the waving of a jihadist flag.
“While the flag is not an ISIS flag, it is known as the jihadist flag used by Al-Qaeda and associated with holy war and a caliphate. In addition, the filmed person explicitly screams “Islamic State”, “Allah curse the Jews”, and “Allah curse the disbelievers” in Arabic,” the community notes read.
When Leicester Police endangered Hindu community
Just like the Uk’s Metropolitan Police, the Leicester police has been at the forefront of a misinformation campaign that endangered the lives of Hindus in the city, following the Asia Cup group stage match between India and Pakistan on August 28, 2022.
In a letter to the Leicester Council of Faiths on August 31 last year, Chief Inspector Paul Allen falsely claimed that a small group of people called for the death of Muslims and Pakistan.
He alleged that the provocative slogans were raised in Hindi, indicating that it must have been the handiwork of the Indian Hindu diaspora. “Unfortunately, a small minority of people began chanting in a racially offensive way, calling for (we believe) “death to Pakistan” and “Death to Muslims” In Hindi,” he had claimed initially.
His email, the transcript of which has now gone viral on social media, was in reference to a minor scuffle that took place in Belgrave Road of Leicester. The grave assertion made by police chief Paul Allen gave a free licence to Islamists to unleash havoc on the Hindu community.
