Islamic Human Rights Commission

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The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is a non-profit organization that campaigns against what it sees as violations of the human rights of Muslims. The group is based in London and was established in 1997. Since a BBC documentary broadcast on July 15, 2004 exposed very strong anti-Islamic opinions within the far-right British National Party, the IHRC has campaigned for the prohibition of that party.^[1]

The IHRC has organised joint statements with various Islamic groups about British terror legislation, on many occasions, and collaborated with prominent civil liberties lawyers like Gareth Peirce and Louise Christian.^[2] The IHRC has been criticized as a front for radical Islamists by the Stephen Roth Institute, an organization studying anti-Semitism based in the University of Tel Aviv.^[3] The commission organizes the annual Al-Quds Day demonstration in London, initiated by Ayatollah Khomeini.^[4] It opposes the banning of the Islamist Hizb-ut-Tahrir party and feels that the adoption of sharia law is a legitimate religious idea.^[2]

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, British Newspapers reported IHRC Chair Massoud Shadjareh to have asked "his followers" and "British Muslims" to provide financial assistance to Hezbollah, and having called for the occupation of Israel and "regime change" by Hezbollah on self-defence grounds. He was also reported wrapped in a Hezbollah flag at a rally in Trafalgar Square in 2005.^[5]^[6]^[7] In response, the IHRC denied having advocated terrorism in a press release.^[8] Shadjareh defended having worn the Hezbollah flag as "neither uncommon nor controversial among human rights activists.".^[5] Besides, the IHRC pointed to pictures of Rabbis behaving likewise.^[8] On August 3, 2006, the IHRC asked for judicial review of its allegations of the British government’s assistance with military shipments to Israel,^[9] which was eventually denied.^[10]

In response to July 2006 The Mail and The Sun article IHRC published a press release on 24 July 2006[1] stating the reports "libellous" and "malicious" attacks to IHRC and in particular its chair, Massoud Shadjareh. IHRC complained that they were not given right to defend themselves against the accusation that were stated in these articles. As regards both articles, IHRC’s complaints involve the false portrayal of a briefing aimed primarily at press and policymakers that appears on their website as a ‘call’, ‘comments’ and an ‘outburst’ from Mr. Shadjareh to ‘his followers’ and ‘British Muslims’ to provide financial assistance to Hizbullah, and called on Hizbullah to occupy Israel and undertake ‘regime change’.

1 Annual Islamophobia Awards
- 1.1 Controversy
2 See also
3 External links
4 Notes

[edit] Annual Islamophobia Awards

The Annual Islamophobia Awards are awards given by the Islamic Human Rights Commission each year to politicians and journalists whom the Commission judge to have expressed the most Islamophobic opinions in the course of the past year.

Although the awards are intended to make a serious political point, they are presented in a lighthearted and satirical way.

[edit] Controversy

During the 2003 award ceremony, Ariel Sharon was announced as the "winner" of the "Most Islamophobic International Politician of the Year’," for an interview allegedly given in 1956, now known to be a hoax. The host told the "Palestinian freedom fighter" who accepted the award on Sharon's behalf to "give this to Sharon personally".^[11]^[12]