In the very heart of London, in front of the Cenotaph and Palace of Westminster, a cacophony of Islamist groups – in partnership with the far-Left – have repeatedly taken to the streets to celebrate Hamas’s slaughter of Jews on October 7th, and to express support for the intifada and for jihad.
Police inaction, even in the face of explicit incitement to violence and support for foreign terrorist organizations, has since elicited some restrained fury in the House of Commons. But the organizations that encouraged these chants and organized these protests have operated with impunity in Britain for years, with mainstream media showing little interest in investigating these extremist networks.
Photographer Stuart Mitchell attended these Islamist rallies, to photograph and to document.
Protestors wave Palestinian flags bearing the logo of Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA), an Islamist organization with a long history of open support for the designated terrorist organization Hamas. FOA’s founder and head, Ismail Patel, has previously traveled to Gaza to meet with senior Hamas leaders.
Officials and supporters from the Palestinian Forum of Britain (PFB) played a central role in the protests. PFB has long been accused of serving as a U.K. arm of Hamas. Its spokesman, Zaher Al-Birawi, is closely connected to Hamas leadership.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has been a particularly prominent component of the recent protests. The IHRC is openly affiliated with the Iranian regime. Its chairman, Massoud Shadjareh, is a unabashed supporter of Hamas, appearing alongside representatives of the designated terrorist movement at events organized by the Iranian regime.
Supporters from the Turkish Grey Wolves organization were also present at the rallies. Banned in France because of its involvement in violence and “hate speech,” Western European governments consider the Grey Wolves to be a dangerous hardline organization. Although not explicitly Islamist, the Grey Wolves are close allies of Turkey’s Islamist leadership.
Chants advocating “jihad” from Hizb ut-Tahrir at the anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests in London elicited anger in the House of Commons, leading to denunciations from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other high-ranking politicians. Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist organization with over 40 branches around the world. Founded in 1953, the group seeks to establish a global Islamic caliphate. In 2010, one Hizb ut-Tahrir publication called upon Muslims to “teach the Jews a lesson after which they will need no further lessons. March forth to fight them, eradicate their entity and purify the earth of their filth.”
All photographs by Stuart Mitchell, one of Europe’s leading current affairs photographers. Based in London, he has served a prominent role covering Brexit, Trump and now the domestic impacts of the Israel-Palestine conflict.