Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Muslim charity boss quits after calling Jews 'grandchildren of monkeys and pigs'

The leader of Britain’s largest Muslim charity has stepped down from his role after making antisemitic posts on his Facebook page.
Heshmat Khalifa, who was a trustee and director of Islamic Relief Worldwide, quit after offensive remarks written between 2013 and 2015 came to light this week.

An investigation by The Times showed various harmful posts on Khalifa’s Facebook page, one stating that the Jews are ‘grandchildren of monkeys and pigs’ as well as another describing Egypt’s Muslim president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as a ‘Zionist pimp’.

His Facebook page has now been taken down.

Khalifa, 63, had been with the charity since 1999 and has held a number of senior roles within the organisation which over the past five years.

With an annual income of over £570million, Islamic Relief is one of the largest Muslim charities in the world. According to its website, its mission is to ‘enable people to respond rapidly to disasters and fight poverty through our Islamic values, expertise and global reach.’

The Charity Commission has now opened a compliance case into the organisation.

When confronted with his offensive words, Khalifa stated that he did he was sorry for publishing the posts and regrets his actions.

He said: ‘I did not intend to insult the Jewish community and neither do I hold views which are antisemitic.

‘I have dedicated much of my life’s work to promoting tolerance and freedom of religion and beliefs.’

Islamic Relief Worldwide, which has headquarters in Birmingham, told the newspaper that the Facebook posts ‘contravene the values and principles’ of

The organisation added: ‘Heshmat Khalifa has resigned from the board of trustees of Islamic Relief Worldwide with immediate effect.

‘He will also play no further part in any other Islamic Relief boards.

‘We reject and condemn terrorism and believe all forms of discrimination - including antisemitism - are unacceptable.’
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×