A London mosque registered as a charity is under investigation after sermons shared online appeared to encourage husbands to hit their wives and endorse the execution of gay people.

Videos posted to the Hackney Islamic Community Centre’s YouTube channel describe gay sex as “one of the most evil of acts” and tell men to “discipline” wives who disobey them—including women who refuse sex.

In another lecture, the same preacher praised Saudi Arabia for continuing to execute people accused of “witchcraft”.

A community elder at the East London mosque, also known as Masjid Daar Al-Hadeeth, described it as an “unfortunate reality” that many women now feel able to call police when their husbands assault them.

The National Secular Society (NSS) has referred the centre to the Charity Commission, arguing that the views promoted through its social media channels are incompatible with its charitable status.

As a registered charity, the Hackney Islamic Community Centre—whose stated aims include helping “mankind” and “advancing the Islamic faith”—receives a range of tax exemptions.

The centre paid no tax on £191,097 in income recorded for the year ending March 2025, according to its latest accounts. Nearly £155,000 of that total came from direct donations.

In April this year, it re-registered as a charitable incorporated organisation. The change separated its trustees from liability for the charity’s debts and enabled it to own property in a structure similar to a limited company, while remaining subject to charity law.

Megan Manson, the NSS’s head of campaigns, called the charity’s renewal “alarming”, saying it had hosted “lectures which promote violence against women, say women cannot refuse their husbands sex, and condone the death penalty for gay men and those accused of ‘witchcraft’”.

“Hackney Islamic Community Centre is just one of many charities promoting misogyny, homophobia and other harmful ideologies through the charitable purpose of ‘the advancement of religion’,” she said.

“This charitable purpose must be urgently reviewed. It is evidently facilitating the advancement of ideas which, far from benefiting the public, could fuel discrimination, division and abuse.”

Many of the most controversial statements appear in a series of lectures delivered at the centre by Yasin Munye, an “ustaadh”, or teacher. In the videos, he reads from Manthumatu al-Kaba’ir, a poem listing what Islam identifies as “major sins”.

He identified one such sin as “disobeying the husband, leaving the house without his permission, and disobeying the husband when it comes to calling her to bed, when it comes to calling her for intimacy, when she says ‘no’ without any excuse”.

He then said husbands should “advise her, and boycott her in bed, don’t touch her in bed—and discipline them physically as well, by lightly hitting them to show them who is in charge”.

If a wife continued to refuse, he said her husband “doesn’t have to give her a house anymore”. He added that a man with multiple wives could leave her and remain with another wife “until she becomes obedient again”.

In the same lecture, Mr Munye called gay sex “one of the most evil acts” and “a crime”, claiming that both participants would be “executed in the Sharia”.

He continued: “Scholars, they differ on how the execution occurs. Some of them say he is executed through the sword, like every other normal execution.”

“Others say that they are thrown off of a tall building and rocks are thrown after that on top of them.”

Countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen continue to execute people for homosexuality under Sharia law.

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The terror group Islamic State executed dozens of men accused of homosexuality by throwing them from tall buildings during its peak in the late 2010s.

Elsewhere, Mr Munye said the act of ‘sihr’, or witchcraft, is ‘real’, and praised the government of Saudi Arabia for continuing to execute those accused of the practice.

‘Sihr (magic) is real, it is true… In Saudi Arabia, they are killed, alhamdulillah (praise be to God), bless that, because a lot of Muslim countries today you don’t find this ruling applied,’ he says. 

‘Alhamdulillah, in that country, that punishment is still applied.’

In 2016, father-of-seven Jalal Uddin, 71, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in a Rochdale park by Islamic State extremist Mohammed Kadir because he practiced a form of Islamic healing the terror group labelled ‘black magic’.

Misogynistic views were expressed in other lectures. 

In another video, mosque scholar Abu Sa’ad Muhammad Al-Iraqi said a woman should serve her husband even if he ‘mistreats’ her.

‘If he is not nice to you and mistreats you, there is a way: you bring your family, speak to his family, to teach him a lesson. But you have to give his right, otherwise don’t be his wife,’ he said.

‘Women think these days, our sisters think, that you only be kind to him if he’s been kind back… it doesn’t work like that.’

He added: ‘In another country they (women) can’t do that, they won’t. But it is an unfortunate reality of this country that they turn wife against husband.

‘They know if you slap them once, they’ll call the police for you. They don’t fear Allah.’

Masjid Daar Al-Hadeeth was contacted for comment.

The Charity Commission says it has received the NSS complaint and will consider it before making a decision on whether to open a statutory inquiry.

A spokesman said: ‘The Commission has clear expectations that all charities, regardless of their purpose, must operate for the public benefit and provide a safe and trusted environment for all.

‘Concerns have been raised with us about alleged sermons and social media content linked to Hackney Islamic Community Centre and we have opened a regulatory compliance case to further assess these. This will determine any next steps.’ 

However, the law may be on the mosque’s side.

The Equality Act and Human Rights Act make provisions for the expression of religious freedom, and charity watchdogs have refused to act because teachings are ‘in accordance with… religious beliefs’.

Earlier this year, Islamic preacher Ahmed Shah escaped censure after telling worshippers at Hatch End Islamic Centre that it was ‘mandatory’ for women to do the housework and serve their husbands. 

The Charity Commission instead said it would give ‘advice and guidance’ to the mosque in north London, which took the sermon down from its YouTube channel.

Communications Minister Anika Wells has been recognised by TIME magazine as one of the world’s most influential rising stars after leading the Albanese government’s social media ban for under-16s. The honour comes despite criticism over a $90,000 taxpayer-funded trip to New York to promote the policy.

The international recognition arrives as Wells continues to face questions about her use of ministerial travel entitlements and other taxpayer-funded expenses.

Critics have argued that some of the minister’s travel claims—including trips involving her lobbyist husband—would not pass the “pub test”.

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard wrote Wells’ profile for the TIME list, describing the Labor minister as a prominent figure in the global effort to limit the power of social media companies and improve online protections for children.

“As the world grapples with the extraordinary power of social media and the increasingly pervasive role it plays, Anika Wells has emerged as one of the most significant voices in a growing global movement to reframe the relationship between technology and the well-being of our children,” Gillard wrote.

Gillard also credited Wells with advancing reforms she characterised as world-leading measures designed to shield young Australians from the potential harms of social media.

“As Australia’s Communications Minister, she has championed world-leading reforms to protect young people from the harms of social media,” Gillard said.

“Even in the face of intense opposition from some of the world’s largest tech companies, she remains steadfast.”

Gillard said Wells had also overseen new online safety measures, including regulations supporting Australia’s minimum-age requirements for social media access.

Wells was included alongside a high-profile group of rising figures, including Australian singer Troye Sivan and British singer Raye.

The list also featured US Republican Senator Katie Britt and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar.

The TIME recognition follows Wells’ repayment of $10,116 after a five-month audit by the Parliamentary Expenses Authority. The audit, released last Friday, identified four breaches of parliamentary travel rules across several trips between 2022 and 2025.

Although much of Wells’ travel was found to comply with the rules, her expenses have drawn continued scrutiny. That includes a reported bill of about $90,000 for a New York trip undertaken to promote the government’s social media ban.

The controversy subsequently expanded to cover a number of taxpayer-funded journeys involving members of the minister’s family.

The expenses included $7,000 to fly her husband, lobbyist Sam McCarthy, to three AFL Grand Finals at public expense.

According to the parliamentary expenses register, Wells also claimed almost $1,000 for a chauffeur who worked for seven hours on the day she attended the 2023 Australian Open. She claimed more than $1,200 for nine hours of chauffeur services on the day of the 2022 NRL and NRLW grand finals.

In June 2024, Wells spent $3,000 on flights and allowances for her husband and children to accompany her to Thredbo while she attended meetings with Paralympics Australia and organisers of the Adaptive Festival.

Another expense that came under scrutiny was the installation of a secure communications facility in Wells’ electorate office in October 2024, when she was serving as Sports and Aged Care Minister. A similar facility was already available about a 20-minute drive away.

Wells also conducted a ‘sideline meeting’ at a 40th birthday party during a $3,681 taxpayer-funded trip to Adelaide on June 7 last year.

Labour’s “shameful” prison early release scheme risks leaving victims “living in fear” as thousands of inmates begin leaving jail on Thursday, the domestic abuse commissioner has warned.

Dame Nicole Jacobs said survivors of abuse were being forced to “uproot their lives” because they did not believe adequate safeguards had been put in place.

Around 700 offenders serving sentences of up to 19 months are due to be released across England and Wales from Thursday morning.

The first phase of the scheme is expected to free more than 4,500 prisoners by June.

The Labour government’s latest early release programme follows an earlier scheme introduced two years ago, under which more than 70,000 prisoners were released before completing their sentences.

Dame Nicole said: “As the first perpetrators begin to leave prison, survivors across the country will be looking over their shoulders and living in fear because the Government and the criminal justice system have failed to protect them.

“It is frankly shameful that, as this scheme begins—despite ministers having had months to prepare—I still have no assurance that the risks posed by dangerous perpetrators have been properly considered and assessed, with meaningful input from victims and the specialist services supporting them.

“I have heard from survivors who feel they have been treated as an afterthought throughout the process.

“Many are now having to make their own arrangements to stay safe, including uprooting their lives, because they simply do not trust that sufficient safeguards are in place to manage their abuser safely in the community.”

She added: “Ultimately, we cannot ignore the fact that the early release scheme has caused untold damage to victims’ confidence in the justice system.

“That is particularly troubling when survivors may now face a longer wait for justice than the time their perpetrator spends behind bars.”

She urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Labour government to take “urgent steps” to strengthen protections for victims.

The Government has repeatedly changed position on the plans, which are intended to create capacity in overcrowded prisons.

Following a public backlash, Mr Burnham was forced to exclude offenders convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming offences. The exclusions were later widened to include those convicted of manslaughter and other offences involving “unlawful killing”.

However, Dame Nicole warned that many perpetrators of domestic abuse will still qualify for early release.

The latest prison release scheme was drawn up by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood while she was serving as Justice Secretary.

Under the changes, most prisoners who would normally serve 40 or 50 per cent of a court-imposed sentence will be released after completing 33 per cent.

As the policy is introduced over the coming months, offenders convicted of certain violent or sexual crimes who were previously eligible for release after serving two-thirds of their sentence will instead be freed at the halfway point.

Ministers have attempted to reassure victims that there would be thorough risk assessments of prisoners before release and there would be a ‘presumption’ that they would be electronically tagged on release.

However, tagging schemes are in disarray.

In July spending watchdogs warned the public were being put at risk by major problems with electronic tagging.

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It found criminals ordered to take part in electronic monitoring schemes never even get a tag fitted.

In its report the National Audit Office (NAO) also highlighted concerns over whether tagging could be ‘safely scaled up’ to replace jail sentences.

The NAO’s report said: ‘HM Prisons and Probation Service is continuing to scale the service while key elements are not yet working effectively, leading the service to operate beyond its stated risk appetite and tolerance levels.

‘This increases the risk of poor performance and threats to public protection escalating as demand grows.’

More than 5,400 criminals supposed to have been tagged by the end of March had not been fitted with the devices, it emerged.

Another watchdog report, published earlier this week, found that almost half of electronic tags are not fitted on time, putting victims at risk.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation said some criminals were waiting up to five months to be tagged, leading to repeated breaches of court and prison orders.

And in a further development, a joint report by the probation and police inspectorates warned that dangerous stalkers were walking the streets despite breaching their electronic tagging orders more than 30 times.

Labour’s previous early release scheme – allowing offenders out after serving 40 per cent of their sentences – has seen 70,066 criminals freed between its launch in September 2024 and the end of March. 

The replacement scheme, coming into force tomorrow, offers even larger sentence reductions for many criminals and applies to a far wider range of criminals, including those convicted of sexual and serious violent offences.

Mr Burnham paused the programme over the summer and later announced that criminals convicted of rape, serious child sex offences and grooming would be excluded.

Then there was a further outcry, with the widow of murdered PC Andrew Harper blasting the scheme as ‘deplorable’.

Lissie Harper – who married the officer one month before he was dragged to his death by a car in 2019 – blasted Labour after it emerged that two of his killers would be eligible for early release under the new scheme.

The PM changed the terms of the scheme again to exclude those convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter.

The previous early release programme led to distasteful scenes at its launch when lags celebrated their freedom outside jails.

Some were collected by friends in expensive sports cars or popped bottles of bubbly, while others vowed to be lifelong Labour voters as a result of their early release.

Ministry of Justice figures have already suggested the scheme may have played a role in a rise in reoffending rates.

The proven reoffending rate rose to 29.9 per cent for the period July to September 2024, up 1.9 per cent on the same period the previous year – covering about three weeks after prison early releases began under Labour’s first scheme.

An MoJ document said ‘various policy changes’ including early release ‘may have impacts upon … reoffending rates’.

The early release scheme was set out in Labour’s Sentencing Act which also contained separate measures which, from March this year, largely barred the courts from imposing prison sentences of 12 months or less.

Senior police chiefs have repeatedly warned the measures as a whole will lead to an increase in crime and cost forces £400million a year to deal with.

Meriton founder Harry Triguboff says his lifelong goal has been to put roofs over Australians’ heads, insisting he has done “more than anyone else” to expand the nation’s housing supply after millionaire Dick Smith accused him of greed earlier this year.

Triguboff, Australia’s second-richest person with an estimated fortune of $34.1 billion, said he had remained focused on property and housing throughout more than six decades in the industry.

“It’s not about being the richest, it’s about winning,” the 93-year-old developer said.

“Rich” represents growth to Triguboff, while growth represents success. He said every battle he had fought over the past 60 years had helped him build more and achieve more.

“To this day, I am still working, still contributing and still fighting. I’m still doing what I’ve done my entire life. The extra zeros just help put more roofs over heads. It is about the people; it always has been.”

Triguboff said he believed no one had contributed more to Australian housing. He described himself as relentless once he committed to an objective, adding that he had repeatedly challenged those who stood in his way.

He said he recognised years ago that Australia was heading towards a housing shortfall, even as governments warned of an oversupply while he pushed to increase construction.

Triguboff estimates Meriton has supplied more than 80,000 homes, but said at least twice that number would have been needed to prevent the shortage now facing the country. Without his battles with the system, he added, the figure would have been roughly half as large.

“I know there will never be another Harry Triguboff and there will only ever be one Meriton. Nobody could start today the way I started more than 60 years ago.”

He maintained that Meriton could not have delivered so many homes without his willingness to confront existing rules and institutions.

Triguboff also pointed to his early adoption of development models that have since become more common. “Built-to-rent and serviced apartments may seem like post-millennium ingenuity, but I was doing both back in the 1990s,” he said. Adapting to changing conditions, he added, meant having alternatives when the market shifted.

However, he said Australia would need further major changes to address its housing crisis.

“My job now is to work on the problems holding housing back. Too often that means fighting the governments and the banks. It would be far better if we could work together,” he said.

Triguboff argued that many long-standing laws, regulations and legislative settings must be modernised if Australia is to achieve meaningful change in housing.

He said skilled workers were being kept out of the country, while established developers and builders were collapsing under soaring construction costs. Essential workers, particularly in Sydney, were also leaving because they could no longer afford to live in the city.

“How is any of that driving the market in the right direction?” he asked.

Triguboff has previously argued soaring house prices and higher immigration were essential for Australia’s future. 

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‘If prices keep dropping, buyers will disappear. It’s natural instinct to adopt a wait and see approach. The mindset is, “Why buy today what will be cheaper tomorrow?”

‘As people stop buying, they stop working hard. What is the point of working hard if prices drop?’

Triguboff went on to say that to counter the issue, Australia’s population had to keep growing to turbocharge the market.

‘This country must grow. It’s too big to be left in its present state.

‘To develop we need more people, but we argue who should come. When they do come here, they mix very well with the local people.’

But Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith accused Triguboff of utter greed.

It’s a sign of utter greed from one of our billionaires, because he’s already worth over $20 billion dollars, and he just wants more money,’ Smith said.

‘He’s got incredible political influence, and he’s encouraging politicians to have record numbers of immigration so he can make more money.

‘I don’t understand it. He could never spend his money; he’s in his 90s!’

‘I’m pro-immigration but at levels of 70,000 a year which would level off our population at 30 million,’ Smith said (Australia’s population hit 28 million in June).

‘Our present rate puts that number at over 100 million by the end of this century which is when our grandkids will still be alive … and not many people believe that’s a sensible number.

‘You can’t grow forever – our system of capitalism requires endless growth but that’s impossible.

‘If we planned now and went to 70,000 immigrants a year, then our birth rate is less than replacement level because Australian families are sensible.

‘They realise that having too many kids make it too hard for them to buy houses, which I believe should be a given right in Australia.

‘That’s now impossible for a lot of young people, and that’s because we’ve had such incredible population growth.’

Smith also suggested there were some more cynical reasons behind Triguboff’s comments, pointing to his property portfolio as an example.

‘He pushes for more immigration so he can sell more units; I think he owns over 1000 units that he rents out to people who can’t afford their own,’ he said.

‘This incredible difference in wealth really worries me; we have thirty per cent of our population living pay packet to pay packet with no savings at all, and then you have this billionaire worth over twenty billion who’s constantly pushing the government to get more people in so he can make more money.

‘Harry – you have enough money. You don’t need any more!’