The claimant, a Chief Immam, sued in defamation in respect of a broadcast of the Sunday Politics, suggesting that his mosque had served as ‘the venue for a number of extremist speakers and speakers who espouse extremist positions.’ The defendant pleaded justification.
Held: The claim failed: ‘the cumulative effect of [the claimant’s] speeches is consistent with an extremist Salafist Islamist worldview, with positions articulated on the particular issue of jihad that are violently extreme, and these speeches would be regarded by the vast majority of the Muslim community as theologically extreme. ‘
Haddon-Cave J
[2016] EWHC 2688 (QB)
Bailii
England and Wales
Defamation
Updated: 24 January 2022; Ref: scu.570722