Muslim Council of Britain Offers Crocodile Tears over Stabbing at Manchester Synagogue

An Islamist organization with a long history of vilifying Israel in the United Kingdom has condemned an attack that resulted in the deaths of two Jews and wounding of three others in Manchester, England. The attack took place outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Manchester neighborhood of Crumpsall on Thursday, October 2, 2025. The BBC has reported that the police have identified the assailant—who was shot dead after the Yom Kippur attack—as Jihad al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent.

The Daily Mail reported that one witness described the attacker as “moving from victim to victim in a ‘robotic’ manner ‘like he had a job to do’ —targeting ‘anyone’ wearing a kippah.” (The Independent reports that one of the deaths was the result of the victim being shot by police during the confrontation with Al-Shamie.)

The stabbing took place in a city where anti-Israel protesters took to the streets in celebration soon after the October 7 massacre and in the years since, have chanted “From Manchester to Gaza, globalize the intifada!” prompting Habibi, a prominent counter-Islamist account to ask, “What could possibly go wrong, eh[?]”

MCB’s Crocodile Tears

Predictably enough, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which describes itself as the leading Muslim organization in the U.K. despite enjoying the support of very few Muslims in the country, has condemned the attack despite its long history of inciting against Israel, Jews, and others.

In its statement on X, the MCB, which was founded by supporters of the Islamist organization, Jamaat-e-Islami, said it was “deeply concerned by reports of a violent attack” and stressed that it “unequivocally condemns this act of violence.” The group extended “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families, noting the attack’s added gravity because it took place on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Unfortunately, leaders of the MCB—which has not responded to a request for comment—has engaged in unholy attacks on Israel and its supporters in the U.K. for quite some time. In 2006, the MCB initiated a six-year boycott of Holocaust memorials in the U.K. insisting that public officials acknowledge the “Holocaust” in Palestine as well, affirming false and overheated allegations of genocide against Israel that have become all the rage in recent months.

In March 2009, The Guardian reported that the U.K. government severed ties with the MCB after its then deputy secretary-general, Daud Abdullah, “signed a declaration last month that the government and critics of the MCB have interpreted as calling for violence against Israel and condoning attacks on British troops.” The declaration, issued in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 Gaza War, congratulated “the whole family of Islam on the manifest victory which Allah has granted us in the land of Gaza, a land of pride and dignity, over the Zionist Jewish occupiers.”

Writing in 2022, Sam Westrop, director of the Middle East Forum’s Islamist Watch, reported that Sir Iqbal Sacranie, MCB’s founding general secretary, was “a key organizer of the protests and threats against novelist Salman Rushdie, who once said: ‘Death, perhaps, is a bit too easy for him … his mind must be tormented for the rest of his life unless he asks for forgiveness to Almighty Allah.’” Clearly, MCB does not fit the profile of an organization opposed to political violence.

British Muslim Heritage Center

The British Muslim Heritage Center (BMHC) located in Manchester condemned the stabbing, declaring on Facebook that it stands “firmly against all forms of violence, hate, and intimidation, regardless of the target or community. Places of worship should always be sanctuaries of peace, reflection, and safety. An attack on any faith group is an attack on us all.” The BMHC also urged “everyone to remain calm, united, and vigilant. In times like these, it is vital that we reaffirm our shared values of compassion, respect, and community cohesion.”

Sadly, BMHC leaders have a mixed record on promoting community cohesion, with the Jewish Chronicle reporting in April 2023 that the organization’s chief executive, Maqsood Ghulam Ahmad, posted a number of hateful messages about Israel on social media. For example, Ahmad allegedly took to Twitter, now called X, to “repost an animation showing a group of stereotypical hook-nosed Jews spitting on Christians and another depicting a Jewish man with a begging bowl asking, ‘anything for the oppressed chosen people?’” To its credit, the BMHC ousted Ahmad after his statements became public, with BMHC chair Naser Mahmood declaring they were “inconsistent” with the organization’s values.

Sadly enough, Mahmood, who attended a BHMC event as chair in late September 2025, allegedly posted hateful messages on the internet himself. The Jewish Chronicle reported in May 2023 that the BMHC chair had taken to social media to assert that “Israel funded ISIS and supplied its weapons, had carried out the 9/11 attacks, and that these claims had been admitted by senior Israeli officials.”

The Jewish Chronicle also reported that the BMHC was set to host a talk by Peter Gregson, who was expelled from the GMB, a prominent labor union in the U.K. “after claiming Israel was ‘a racist endeavour’ that ‘exaggerates’ the Nazis’ murder of six million Jews ‘for political ends.’”

In late 2024, the BMHC also came under fire for hosting a talk by Sami Hamdi, an anti-Israel activist, who encouraged activists to feel “euphoria” in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre and declared that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lied about the rapes that took place during the massacre.

Kamran Husain, who served as CEO of BMHC after Ahmad’s ouster and who now works as a consultant for charities specializing in executive coaching and performance management, told Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) that the event took place at BMHC’s Marquee, which is “is rented out to a catering company who subsequently hire it out for weddings and events.”

Husain forcefully condemned the stabbing. “No political disagreement, past statement, or institutional stance can diminish the moral obligation to stand against antisemitic violence,” he said.“Condemnations of such attacks should be taken seriously — especially when they come from across communities and perspectives. The consistent and unequivocal rejection of hate crimes is essential if we are to build trust and resilience across society.”

(Dexter Van Zile)

Husain warned against putting too much emphasis on statements made by institutions prior to Thursday’s stabbing, declaring that questioning “the sincerity of such condemnations risks reinforcing division at precisely the time we need to be coming together,” adding that “In moments of grief and vulnerability, there is a real risk of unintentionally deepening divides or giving space to those who actively seek to turn communities against one another. Now more than ever, we need to stand together - across faiths, backgrounds, and political differences—in grief, in solidarity, and in defense of one another’s safety and dignity.”

BMHC CEO Irfan Ashraf responded to an FWI query by declaring, “Like so many others, we are shocked and horrified by the recent attack on the synagogue in Manchester. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the wider Jewish community at this deeply distressing time.” Ashraf continued:

Manchester Council of Mosques

In its statement, the Manchester Council of Mosques was “shocked and saddened” by the incident, adding that any attempt to sow division “through violence or hatred will fail.”

“Manchester has always been a city where people of all faiths and backgrounds live side by side,” it declared.

Not necessarily.

The safety of Jews in Manchester and other cities in England has deteriorated since the October 7 massacre. Speaking to Focus on Western Islamism in December 2024, Raphi Bloom, a well-known pro-Israel activist in Manchester, stated that as the anti-Israel protests became more intense in the aftermath of October 7, Jews in Manchester began painting over their mezuzahs and hiding the Stars of David that they used to wear publicly.

“People were like that for two or three or four months,” Bloom said. “Then there started to be a shift and people started to say, you know what? We’re not going to be scared anymore.”

In the aftermath of the attack, the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism issued a blistering condemnation of U.K. officials who have failed to respond effectively to Islamist and leftist antisemitism in the country.

“Today’s attack was made inevitable by the radicalization and Islamist extremism that have been allowed to spread by successive governments, which have ignored every warning and done practically nothing to tackle it,” said Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism. “Now, the blood of British Jews cries out from the ground.”

October 3, 2025 Update: This article has been updated to inform readers that one of the victims was shot by police during the confrontation. It was also updated to include a response from the British Muslim Heritage Center.