Mosque leader suspended over Hamas video inquiry

Abdul Malik has apologised for sharing the Hamas clip on social media

A councillor and magistrate is being investigated by a government watchdog and has been suspended as chair of one of the largest mosques in Bristol.

Abdul Malik is being investigated after sharing a video on social media from Hamas about the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel.

The Charity Commission said: "We have an ongoing regulatory compliance case into Easton Jamia Masjid to assess concerns regarding a trustee's personal use of social media. As part of this case, we can confirm that we have suspended Abdul Malik as a trustee".

Mr Malik posted on Facebook that he had been "temporarily suspended" as chair of Easton Jamia Masjid while the regulator reviews a "historic social-media matter".

'Cooperate fully'

The Green Party councillor has already been given a formal warning by The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) for serious misconduct.

In 2023, according to the JCIO, a post on Mr Malik's Facebook timeline contained "a video from Hamas regarding their attack on southern Israel".

Mr Malik initially claimed he had only been tagged in the post by someone else but later accepted he must have shared the post himself.

Despite apologising repeatedly for the incident and insisting that he does not support Hamas, the JCIO found his actions "had a detrimental effect" upon the "reputation of the magistracy" and he was issued with a formal warning.

Since then, Mr Malik posted on his Facebook page that the Charity Commission is now reviewing the incident and he has been suspended as chair of Easton Jamia Masjid.

"This is an administrative process, not a finding of wrongdoing, and I continue to cooperate fully with the commission to resolve it as quickly as possible," he said.

He added that his community service, inter-faith work, and equality campaigning in Bristol would "continue without interruption".

"I am confident that the process will conclude fairly and that the facts will speak for themselves," he said.

"I appreciate everyone who has reached out with support, it means a great deal."