British Imams Accused of Telling Men to Beat Wives Who Refuse Sex

In a video addressed to his followers, a white-robed preacher tells men they should hit their wives if they refuse a husband’s demand for sexual intimacy.

With his hands clasped, he urges husbands not to accept disobedience, advising them to “discipline” their wives physically and strike them lightly to reinforce who, in his view, is in control.

It sounds like dialogue from a period drama set in a lawless, medieval world. In fact, the remarks were made in modern Britain.

The cleric is Yasin Munye, of the Hackney Islamic Community Centre, a religious charity based in east London. His comments have raised fresh questions about misogyny, domestic abuse and the reach of extremist interpretations of religious teaching.

Citing scripture while outlining what he regards as justification for domestic violence, Munye specifically refers to a wife “disobeying the husband when it comes to calling her to bed”.

If an Anglican vicar delivered a comparable sermon, critics might expect an immediate police response and possible arrest.

Police have, meanwhile, faced criticism for pursuing members of the public over comments posted online. Last year, two detectives visited grandmother Helen Jones after she criticised Labour politicians on Facebook.

When the video involving Munye, who trained in Saudi Arabia, emerged last week and a complaint was made to the Charity Commission about his mosque, there was little comparable public debate. The Metropolitan Police said it was “assessing” a complaint concerning the Hackney centre.

An investigation by The Mail on Sunday suggests the controversy is not an isolated case. Similar misogynistic advice, including guidance aimed at Muslim husbands, is reportedly being circulated across Britain through online lectures and recorded sermons.

The findings come amid wider concern over the influence of sharia-based practices in parts of modern Britain. Last month, footage appeared to show men and women forming separate queues at an Asian supermarket in Romford, Essex. In October, The Mail on Sunday reported that a London mosque had arranged a “family friendly” charity run that excluded women.

Rakib Ehsan, a social integration specialist and author of Beyond Grievance: What The Left Gets Wrong About Ethnic Minorities, said women in segregated communities had been failed by Britain’s approach to multiculturalism. “With light-touch policing, the state has turned a blind eye to ethnically insular areas of our cities that have regressive attitudes,” he said. Ehsan argued that limited engagement had allowed some imams to feel emboldened to promote violent misogyny and practices at odds with British law and social norms.

In August, Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged to make tackling violence against women and girls “a driving mission”, saying the government must remain “laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes”.

The video was later identified by the National Secular Society, which warned that a “religious manosphere” was gaining ground in Britain. Domestic abuse organisation Jeena International said Munye’s comments could reinforce the belief in some Asian communities that rape cannot occur within marriage. Founder Rani Bilkhu said some preachers were using religion to exert coercive control over women and effectively authorising sexual violence and domestic abuse.

Asked whether such preaching discourages Muslim women from reporting rape or domestic abuse, Bilkhu said it was one factor among several, including reluctance to come forward and language barriers. She also criticised fears that addressing the issue could lead to accusations of racism. “This is not a woke issue, this is a safeguarding issue,” she said.

The investigation presents a troubling picture of Britain in 2026, identifying numerous online sermons in which imams express what critics describe as archaic and discriminatory views. One preacher condemned women who leave home wearing perfume as “fornicators”. In another recording, Abu Sa’ad Muhammad, who preaches at the same mosque as Munye, said wives had been turned against their husbands and warned that they knew “if you slap them once, they will call the police”.

Mahamed AbdurRazaq, of Birmingham’s An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre, advises husbands to “admonish” wives who refuse sex. If that fails, he says a husband may hit her, provided the assault does not cause bruising or broken bones.

Under British law, striking a wife—even without leaving visible injuries—can constitute common assault and lead to prosecution as domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 defines the offence as physical abuse and violent or threatening behaviour. A single incident could qualify. Police might also have grounds to pursue Munye under the Serious Crime Act 2007 for ‘intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence’.

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said the sermons could ‘encourage domestic violence and marital rape’. She added: ‘Charity regulators cannot ignore this, and neither should authorities concerned with protecting women from abuse. This religious manosphere has no place in the charity sector. Authorities must have the courage to hold religious charities to account.’

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Some of the most misogynistic sermons the MoS uncovered have taken place in the Green Lane Masjid in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham, located in Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s Ladywood constituency.

In a speech from December, imam Aqeel Mahmood delivered a 47-minute lecture on the Islamic laws of marriage, explaining the ‘duties of husbands and wives’.

During this speech the cleric insisted that the husband has a right to ‘discipline his wife in case of rebellion’. In the video posted online he said: ‘It is not permissible for the wife to leave the house without the husband’s permission’, and added: ‘Physical discipline is a last resort on the condition that it doesn’t cause pain, injury, fear and humiliation.’

The NSS, which obtained the video, has complained to the Charity Commission about Mahmood’s speech, and it is believed that the regulator gave the mosque ‘advice and guidance’.

At the same mosque, a year earlier, another preacher called Abu Rayan told worshippers that a wife should make herself sexually available to her husband at all times. One of the mosque’s former imams, Abu Usamah at-Thahabi, was embroiled in controversy in 2023 when he said ‘homosexuality is not permissible’, leading to the Government cancelling a £2 million grant. Despite this, Green Lane was one of the mosques West Midlands Police consulted before banning fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv from a Europa League match at Aston Villa in Birmingham last November. The controversial decision, which was criticised for being based more on cultural politics rather than sound evidence, eventually led to the resignation of the force’s chief, Craig Guildford.

Last night the Home Secretary would not be drawn on the actions of specific mosques but a spokesman said: ‘The Government condemns all acts of psychological, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, as well as acts of coercive control, including where they occur in a religious setting or context.’

Meanwhile, in London, at the Darussalam Mosque in Southall, imam Abdur Rahman Hassan told his congregation that it was sinful for a woman to wear perfume outside her home. He said: ‘Any woman who leaves the house and she places perfume on herself, she is a fornicator.’

Although domestic violence rates among Muslims are roughly in line with the national average, many do not report abuse for fear of family disownment and community isolation.

Ironically, a specialist domestic violence unit at Green Lane Mosque said in 2024 that there was a ‘hidden pandemic’ of violence that official figures did not reflect.

Journalist and commentator Khadija Khan, who grew up in a Muslim household in which her father beat her mother for disobeying him, said it is ‘a stain on Britain’s conscience’.

She added: ‘Successive governments have been recklessly supine in challenging blatant misogyny and violence against women and girls being taught in these mosques.

‘Many fear being called “racist” and “Islamophobic”, and there are those MPs who willingly throw minority women under the bus by appeasing religious and cultural fanatics in a shameless bid to secure the “Muslim vote”.’

Last night, Birmingham MP Jess Phillips, the former Labour Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, told the MoS: ‘I am utterly appalled and disgusted that people think they can preach and influence populations to do this.’

Ms Phillips, who faces criticism for her handling of a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal, added: ‘These preachers should not be allowed to speak to anyone in my constituency or in my city.’

Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: ‘These speeches by extremist imams are disgusting and misogynist. They directly incite domestic violence, assaults on women and rape.’

He called on the police to investigate these imams, and the Charity Commission to ‘act urgently’.

Last night, the commission told the MoS that it will probe our evidence on imam Hassan telling women not to wear perfume at the Darussalam Mosque. The regulator said it warned the Hackney Islamic Community Centre in 2024 about extremist speakers, and opened another probe last month after the NSS sent them the videos of Munye and Muhammad.

The Commission had already issued ‘formal guidance’ to the An-Noor Masjid not to invite extremist speakers. A spokesman said: ‘Anyone who advocates violence against women has absolutely no place in charity. When concerns are raised with us, we assess each case carefully and take strong regulatory action where necessary.’

All the mosques featured have been contacted by the MoS.

A spokesman for Green Lane said: ‘Green Lane Masjid unequivocally rejects violence, domestic abuse, coercion and all other forms of violence and abuse.’