Transport for London (TfL) has been criticized for approving an advert at London Underground stations featuring a Muslim cleric who called gay people “worse than animals”.

The ad, which features Zimbabwean Islamic speaker Ismail ibn Musa Menk, commonly known as Mufti Menk, and former Russian Ultimate Fighting Championship star Khabib Nurmagomedov, is aimed at Wahed, an advertising platform Online investment for people of Islamic faith. It describes itself as “making it easy to invest in line with your values.”

The poster, which was displayed across London’s underground and bus network, shows the two men pointing at the brand’s logo, with the slogan ‘Join the Money Revolution’.

The issue was raised when Sadiq Khan took part in Mayor’s Question Time on Thursday morning (October 10), along with Susan Hall – who opposed him in the London mayoral race earlier this year.

“If Wahed had wanted to advertise his platform with a high-calorie meal on the subway, it would have been banned, but apparently a preacher banned from other countries for promoting religious discord has no problem,” he said. Hall said, referring to TfL’s advertising policies and the fact that Menk had been banned from Singapore and Denmark.

“I’m not aware of this announcement, I’ll take a look at it as soon as Mayor’s Question Time is over to see what’s going on,” Khan responded, according to MyLondon.

Menk made controversial comments about homosexuality more than a decade ago, in which he denounced homosexuals as “dirty,” “bad” and “worse than animals.”

The comments resulted in the cleric not being invited to speak at six British universities in 2013 and being placed at the center of a row over free speech, after student unions and members staff expressed their concerns.

However, he has since retracted his comments in a statement published on his website. “On the LGBT issue, let me clarify the statement I made in 2011, which made me say: ‘With all due respect to the animals, they are worse than these animals,” was based on an erroneous idea. I no longer believe that to be true. I completely withdraw.

In response to the criticism, a spokesperson for Khan told MyLondon that the mayor had “made clear that there is no place for hatred in London” and that he “strongly condemns any language that divides people.” incredibly diverse communities in London.”

They went on to stress: “The Mayor has no involvement in approving or deciding on adverts shown on the TfL network, and TfL policy reflects legal requirements. »

A TfL spokesperson said the ad had been reviewed and found to be in line with its advertising policy.

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