One of the faces of Good Morning Britain, Adil Ray, has sensationally spoken out about the calls for “jihad” heard at the pro-Palestine marches in London on Saturday, claiming that “tens of thousands” of protesters were enagaged in “spiritual struggle… to do good”.
The star of the BBC sitcom Citizen Khan took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his views on the use of the Islamic term.
Protesters from the Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir were videoed demanding “jihad” to “liberate” Palestine and for “Muslim armies” to take the fight to Israel.
In one clip, taken outside the Egyptian embassy in Westminster, a speaker addressed the crowd of men, saying: “What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?”
The mob responded, saying: “Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!”
In the second clip, the same speaker said: “The only solution is jihad by the armies of the Muslim countries.”
Pointing to the men gathered, he added: “Not by you and me. Who are we? What training do I have?
“There are people with arms in Egypt, in Pakistan, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan – across the Muslim world.
“And right now they are boiling like we are boiling.”
Other videos emerged online showing pro-Palestine protesters waving flags which appeared similar to those carried by ISIS. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the flags, although similar to those associated with the religious death cult, were not the same.
Another activist was pictured holding a placard saying: “I fully support Hamas”.
In another video, pro-Palestine activists appeared to pull down an LGBT flag that was being waved at the protest, before stamping on it.
Former BBC Asian Network host, Mr Ray, took to X to explain that “Jihad” had more than one meaning and that people should not “focus on one person at a fringe protest”.
The presenter, who announced in August he was taking a break from Good Morning Britain, said: “Jihad means ‘struggle’. A Muslim’s spiritual struggle to avoid sin and be a better human and avoid evil, to do good.
“Therefore tens of thousands were performing Jihad in the peaceful protest. It can also have a war context. Let’s not just focus on one person at a fringe protest.”
The actor and presenter’s comments echo that of the Metropolitan Police, which took to X on Saturday to say: “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 force added: “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 shortly to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.”
Islamic extremism expert Emma Webb accused the force of “gaslighting” the British public.
Political commentator Dan Hodges hit out at Mr Ray, saying: “This is a classic example of problem. The Jewish community are told the marches are peaceful. They then see marchers chanting for Jihad. So then they’re told ‘oh no, they’re just being spiritual. Ignore it’. It’s insane.”
ITV has been approached for comment.
