Fundraisers have been left outraged after it was revealed they were generating money for chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi’s funeral.
The fundraising page was set up under the name ‘Abdul Wahed’ and raised more than £6,000 with the appeal brushing over his conviction for a 2018 sex assault, plus the horrific events that led to his death.
Ezedi, who fled Afghanistan in 2016, was found dead in the Thames last month, ending a police manhunt after he had attacked a mother and her children in Clapham, south London, with an alkali chemical substance in January.
His funeral fundraiser was set up by the Muslim Burial Fund (MBF), despite Ezedi being granted asylum in the UK after converting to Christianity.
Ezedi’s appeal to stay in the UK was successful despite concerns he was a liar after he said the Old Testament was about Jesus Christ and said ‘Jacob’ was one of the 12 disciples during questioning.
Despite this, reverend Roy Merrin, a retired team leader at Grange Road Baptist Church in Jarrow, Tyneside, said he had regularly attended worship and had been baptised.
It was ruled that Ezedi would be “at risk” if he returned to Afghanistan.
The fundraiser by the MBF made £6,596, exceeding its £3,800 target, before it pulled the advert and appeal video.
The page read: “Please give our brother a dignified Islamic burial. He died tragically in suspicious circumstances with no one to claim his body.”
Speaking to MailOnline, an MBF spokesman confirmed the charity only buried Muslims.
He said: “Regardless of any person’s faith, be it Muslim or Christian, if the next of kin decide their loved one wants such and such a burial that’s what will happen. It is not the media who will decide nor the court of public opinion.
“Regardless of the person’s background, whatever they have been accused of doing, whatever their faith, as a charity we will only bury Muslims.”
At the end of its article, one commentator raged at the charity, including one who wrote: “The Charity Commission should investigate this fraudulent fundraising and seize control of the charity and its assets.
“The trustees should be held accountable.”
Another added: “How many more examples do you need to see that the UK is set up for those who wish to abuse it, to have the fullest opportunity to do so?”
