Remember me
A Birmingham mosque that was consulted by police before Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans were banned from attending the club's match against Aston Villa has hosted a preacher who said men could physically discipline their wives.
During a sermon at Green Lane mosque a week before Christmas, preacher Aqeel Mahmood made misogynistic comments and said men can physically punish their wives as a 'last resort' if they disobey.
And prior to the Maccabi match in November, Green Lane hosted a second preacher who previously said husbands can hit their wives if they refuse to have sex with them.
The mosque was one of eight Muslim organisations who were spoken to by West Midlands Police before the decision was taken to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Europa League fixture.
Craig Guildford, who heads the West Midlands force, is now facing calls to resign from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has warned his position is 'untenable', and Jewish groups.
It follows the police chief being grilled by MPs over guidance given to the Safety Advisory Group for the city, which then banned Maccabi fans from attending citing concern from the police.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer heavily criticised the decision, as did politicians from multiple parties and members of the Jewish community.
But it emerged today that Green Lane mosque last month allowed Aqeel Mahmood to hold a sermon in which he argued men could physically discipline their wives as a 'last resort' if they were rebellious. West Midlands Police declined to comment.
During a sermon at Green Lane mosque a week before Christmas, preacher Aqeel Mahmood made misogynistic comments and said men can physically punish their wives as a 'last resort' if they disobey
Prior to the Maccabi match in November, Green Lane mosque (pictured) hosted a second preacher who previously said husbands can hit their wives if they refuse to have sex with them
Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv were banned from their Europa League fixture at Villa Park on November 6 (stock picture of supporters at a separate match in Amsterdam)
Mahmood was giving a lecture about the rights and obligations of husbands and wives when he made the comments, and also said that men have 'a level of authority over the woman', the Times reports.
He allegedly said this punishment should not result in pain, injury or fear, before going on to claim it is 'common sense' that wives should not leave their children in the care of others to carry out errands such as shopping.
He is also said to have argued women should never leave the house without the permission of their husbands unless it is a life and death situation.
Mahmood added men should not cause 'harm' to their wives, 'whether it's physical or otherwise'.
The mosque told the Times that the comments had been taken 'out of context'.
It is not the first time that Green Lane mosque has come under fire for hosting controversial preachers.
In the first few months of 2025, it published videos on its YouTube site of sermons given by Mahamed AbdurRazaq.
The videos were shared months after AbdurRazaq was banned by another mosque in Birmingham over a sermon in 2024 in which he said men are 'allowed to hit' their wives if they refuse sex.
The mosque where he held the sermon, An-Noor Masjid, was reported to the Charity Commission by the National Secular Society (NSS) over concerns it effectively condoned marital rape, and he was later banned by leaders there.
Green Lane mosque also shared videos of preacher Mahamed AbdurRazaq, who previously said men were 'allowed' to hit their wives if they refused to have sex with them
Imam Mustafa Abu Rayyan also held a panel discussion in Birmingham when he argued that a woman's 'number one' responsibility was to 'follow, obey and respect her husband'
Green Lane was also criticised in 2024 after imam Mustafa Abu Rayyan told a panel discussion at the mosque that women have an 'obligation' to have sex with their husbands.
He said a woman's 'number one' responsibility was to 'follow, obey and respect her husband' and that she not strive to become a 'career woman'.
The mosque was reported to the Charity Commission over the comments.
And in 2023 an investigation by the Mail on Sunday found that the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham had imams giving sermons on how to stone a woman 'correctly' for adultery and delivering speeches that appear to incite murder of members of the LGBT+ community.
Despite the mosque's history of misogyny allegations, West Midlands Police still consulted with leaders their over the presence of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the city.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism told the Mail: 'The fact that West Midlands Police thought this was a reputable organisation to get an informed opinion from is just embarrassing.
'With these allegations of abhorrent comments made by its guest speakers, this mosque's track record should have had alarm bells ringing.
'West Midlands Police should have followed the intelligence without fear or favour. It clearly told them that the threat came not from Israeli or Jewish fans, but from thugs and Islamists in their local community who planned to attack them.
'This ban should never have been put in place and the attempts to justify it must seal the fate of the Chief Constable and other senior officers who have colluded in this shameful debacle. The Police and Crime Commissioner must start the process of restoring trust in West Midlands Police by sacking the Chief Constable without further delay.'
The force is under fire over doubts about the intelligence used to produce their guidance to the SAG, which is made up of representatives from the council, police and other authorities.
Documents show police were warned that locals in the majority Muslim community had planned to 'arm' themselves if Maccabi fans showed up.
Gathered intelligence also showed 'local hostility towards the visitors based on their nationality'.
West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford, pictured giving evidence before the committee last month over the Maccabi ban
Home Affairs Committee chair Dame Karen Bradley accused police chief Mr Guildford of 'scraping' to find a reason for the ban.
'It feels to us, from everything we've seen, that there was a need that you felt, that you had to justify banning these fans, and that scraping was done to find a reason,' she said.
Mr Guildford - who was at the committee for the second time - replied: 'I'm really sorry if it comes across in that way. That was absolutely not the case.
'The information, the intelligence that we received, that we documented, and we've shared absolutely all of that with HMICFRS (His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services) very, very recently was all gone through.'
He also denied claims that the ban was a result of 'political influence'.
West Midlands Police were previously forced to apologise after appearing to suggest British Jews backed the ban of Maccabi fans, who have previously been accused of violence.
Mike O'Hara, an Assistant Chief Constable at the West Midlands force, told the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) of MPs last month police had been told by members of the Jewish community they did not want Maccabi fans to attend the match.
WMP subsequently issued a statement of clarification which read: 'It was never the intention of the officer to imply that there were members of the Jewish community who had explicitly expressed support for the exclusion of Maccabi fans.'
West Midlands Police declined to comment.
Green Lane mosque has been contacted for comment.
Comments (0)