On March 2nd, 2024, we exposed the activity of Zulfiqar Khan, a Pakistani Tabligh preacher who plays the role of imam at the IQRAA Islamic Center in the northern Italian city of Bologna.
Khan’s sermons launched from the pulpit of his mosque, are known for their aggressive language and constant insults and curses against Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden, Arab governments not aligned with Hamas and Iran, and anyone the preacher considers to be an ally of Israel. Khan also repeatedly targeted several journalists, accusing them of being “Netanyahu’s slaves“.
Khan previously accused Israelis of not being true Jews or even Semites. Indeed, in his last speech on Friday, April 12th, he even declared that Israelis are anti-Semites.
The preacher already defined on many occasions Benjamin Netanyahu as “an assassin” and, during the Eid sermon on April 10th, after praising Iran and Yemen, he accused the Israelis of “molesting Muslim women”. In short, a total insult to the Israeli women victims of torture, sexual abuse and violence perpetrated by Hamas.
In another video published on March 25th and entitled “Free Palestine,” Khan said: “Now we wait on Allah, His Rahma, and all the brothers who gave courage, supported our mujahidin, then we must make Dua for our martyrs who have lost their lives in recent months…”.
On April 8th, in a sermon entitled “The Bible and the Quran predict the destruction of Israel?” the preacher brings up some Koranic verses about unbelievers and about Allah who “increases their sins” and states that Hamas made it clear that “this murderous (Israeli) government does not want any hostages back; it doesn’t want to reach a solution to exchange the hostages.”
In another sermon entitled “The pedophiles in the American government and the Zionist role”, Khan accuses Joe Biden of “forcing his underage daughter to take a shower with him at midnight”.
At the end of the sermon, the preacher also takes it out on the presidents of Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia because “they know nothing” and he invokes “Allah destroy these “zaalimin, oppressors, as they should be“.
On Friday, April 12th, Khan delivered a particularly aggressive sermon, initially stating that “the Israelites are anti-Semites”, that “Zionists are not Jews” and adding that anti-Semitism did not exist before 1881 when “Germanism succeeded against Judaism” and then “The league of anti-Semitism was born… And the real anti-Semites are the Americans and the Israelites…”.
Shortly after, Khan stated: “Don’t follow those who hide the truth…Perpetrate jihad against these liars, these assassins”.
And again: “Fight against those who start fighting against you…Islam responds, it does not attack. No war has even been initiated by the Muslims”.
A few minutes later he defines Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu as “the horns of Satan”, “Very soon we will see how these horns of Satan will end up” and “For them there will be an immense punishment”.
Khan also praises Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, because “his facial expression did not change when he was told that his three sons, wives and grandchild had died”.
And again: “…And they want to fight those whose only objective is paradise?”
The Pakistani preacher also reminds that “The path of Allah is to fight for the oppressed” and screams against those who tell Iran to stop attacking this assassin government, assassin organization (Israel).
During the sermon, the Pakistani preacher also attacks journalists who, according to his view, are siding with Israel, calling them “liars, corrupt, forcing him to say that Hamas is terrorism”.
The reference seems to be towards Giuseppe Cruciani, a journalist conducting “La Zanzara” radio broadcast, who recently invited Khan on the show asking him if Hamas was terrorist. At the beginning of the sermon, Khan also attacks Italian journalists Nicola Porro and Paolo Del Debbio, who recently exposed him.
At the end of the sermon, the preacher uses the term “Thaghout” to indicate the satanic powers to be fought, indeed once again the United States and Israel.
He also attacks those Muslim countries not siding with Iran and Hamas, specifically Morocco, and he further adds that “Allah orders to fight against those who are allies of Satan”.
These are just some of the contents of Zulfiqar Khan’s sermons. The individual has repeatedly attracted the attention of the Italian media and even of a PM of Giorgia Meloni’s party (Fratelli d’Italia), Andrea Del Mastro Delle Vedove, who publicly denounced the serious statements that Khan made towards Jews and Israelites (“The Israelites are terrorists and deceivers according to the Bible” and “deception with the aim of self-interest is part of the Jewish faith“). See the full video on the issue here.
Well, Fratelli d’Italia is in power now, so why denounce when they could eventually intervene?
Although the preacher is well known to everyone by now (including the Italian institutions), despite the pulpit of his mosque being systematically used as a sounding board for propaganda of ideological hatred, nothing has yet been done to stop this.
Many concerned people are starting to seriously ponder the reasons why the authorities have so far allowed all this to take place, given that Italy is known for the quick expulsions of preachers and individuals considered a security risk. Khan’s statements go far beyond the limits of free speech and this situation has been going on for months and months.
Isn’t it important to evaluate what might happen if someone particularly receptive to this type of hate propaganda decides to take action? In sunto, the question is no longer about the content of Khan’s now well-known and repetitive sermons, but rather about the reasons why all this is tolerated.
Giovanni Giacalone is a senior analyst in Islamist extremism and terrorism at the Italian Team for Security, Terroristic Issues and Managing Emergencies-Catholic University of Milan, at the Europe desk for the UK-based think tank Islamic Theology of Counter-Terrorism, and a researcher for Centro Studi Machiavelli. Since 2021 he is the coordinator for the "Latin America group" at the International Institute for the Study of Security-ITSS. In 2023 Giacalone published the book “The Tablighi Jamaat in Europe”.