London Underground advert features cleric who called gay people ‘filthy’ and ‘worse than animals’ --[Reported by Umva mag]

Transport for London (TfL) has come under fire for approving an advert in London Underground stations that features a Muslim cleric who has called homosexuals “worse than animals”.

The advertisement, which features Zimbabwean Islamic speaker Ismail ibn Musa Menk, commonly known as Mufti Menk, and Russian former Ultimate Fighting Championship star Khabib Nurmagomedov, is for Wahed, an online investment platform for those of Islamic faith. It describes itself as “making investing in line with your values easy”.

The poster, which has been displayed on the London Underground and bus network, shows both men pointing at the brand’s logo, with the slogan “Join the Money Revolution”.

The issue was raised when Sadiq Khan took part in Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday morning (10 October), with Susan Hall – who stood against him in the London mayoral contest earlier this year.

“If Wahed had wanted to advertise their platform with a high-calorie meal on the Tube, it would be banned, but apparently a preacher banned from other countries for promoting religious discord is fine,” Hall said, referring to TfL’s advertising policies and the fact that Menk had been barred from Singapore and Denmark.

“I’m not aware of that advert, I’ll have a look at it as soon as Mayor’s Question Time is finished to see what’s gone on there,” Khan replied, according to MyLondon.

Menk made the controversial comments about homosexuality more than a decade ago, where he denounced gay people as “filthy”, “wrong” and “worse than animals”.

The comments resulted in the cleric being uninvited from speaking at six British universities in 2013 and put at the centre of a free speech row, after student unions and members of staff expressed concerns.

However, he has since retracted his comments in a statement posted on his website. “On the issue of LGBT, let me clarify the statement I made in 2011, which had me saying, ‘With all due respect to the animals, they are worse than those animals’, was based on a misguided notion. I no longer believe that to be true. I make a full retraction of that.”

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Khan told MyLondon that the mayor was “clear that there is no place for hate in London” and “strongly condemns any language which divides London’s amazing diverse communities”.

They went on to point out: “The mayor has no involvement in approving or deciding which ads run on the TfL network, and TfL’s policy reflects legal requirements.”

A TfL spokesperson said the ad was reviewed and found to comply with its advertising policy.

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