Labour councillors in sectarian chanting and leafleting scandal in Walsall

Councillor Hussain and Councillor Nawaz were seen in central Walsall last month chanting “long live the finality of the prophet” towards the Ahmadis, who believe in the possibility of future prophets.

They were also filmed distributing leaflets which described the Ahmadis as “liars” and apostates. The leaflets also praise the “noble companions” who “fought against them”, which an expert said glorified the killings of those who have claimed to be prophets.

Charlotte Littlewood, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said that the chanting and leafleting in Walsall was “at the very least sectarian and at the very worst supportive of the Khatme Nubawwat movement, a religious-political movement in Pakistan that calls for the death of Ahmadis.”

She added: “It’s absolutely abhorrent that persons elected to represent all would be involved in any way in sectarianism.”

Councillors Nawaz and Hussain said that they were acting in a private capacity and not in their roles as councillors, adding that there was no link with their demonstration and any organisation that promotes violence or hatred.

The local politicians said that it would beinaccurate to suggest that the chants promoted any group or movement.

But leaflets distributed at the tense stand-off were produced and promoted by the “Global Khatme Nubuwwat Movement,” appearing to contradict the councillors’ claims.

In correspondence with this broadcaster, the two councillors jointly did not describe the Ahmadis as Muslims, instead referring to them as ‘Khadiyanni’, a pejorative slur against the persecuted group.

Sectarian anti-Ahmadi rhetoric has contributed to at least one murder of an Ahmadi Muslim in Britain in the last decade.

Asad Shah, an Ahmadi shopkeeper in Glasgow, was murdered by a Sunni Muslim from Bradford in 2016, Tanveer Ahmed, who had links to the Khatme Nabuwwat movement.

Despite chanting at the Ahmadis and holding a leaflet that describes the minority group as “liars” and apostates, Coun. Hussain has previously called for more “diverse management” at Walsall Council.

The Register of Interests reveals that Coun. Hussain’s day job is as a Community Protection Officer with Black Country Innovate CIC, a community organisation which among other things ran a Hate Crime Reduction Initiative together with Walsall For All, another local community organisation which is partnered with West Midlands Police.

Another Black Country Innovate project was “In Their Shoes”, a play for school children to convey “messages on challenging views and stereotypes of others” and help children when “they come across extreme views of other communities”.

Companies House reveals that someone with the same name as Aftab Nawaz was the secretary and also a director of Black Country Innovate from its founding in 2018 until he resigned in 2020.

Basharat Nazir, the Press Secretary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Britain, said: “The incident in Walsall Town centre targeting our peaceful stall is completely unacceptable. The event has been reported as a hate crime with the police and we are grateful for their support on this matter and we look forward to the outcome of their work.”

West Midlands Police said that they had carried out enquiries, but no criminal offences have yet been identified.