Jewish Onliner is an independent publication. If you find our work valuable, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You can also subscribe to us on WhatsApp and Telegram. Follow us on Instagram, Discord, and X.
British Conservative MP Nick Timothy on November 4 published a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood seeking action over The Thinking Muslim Conference and, in a follow-up post, linked directly to a September 14 Jewish Onliner investigation that identified the West London event’s original speaker lineup and documented the records of several advertised participants. The conference is scheduled for November 8.
In the post releasing the letter, Timothy said one advertised speaker had expressed willingness to carry out a suicide bombing, while another had been described as an al-Qaeda member and later met a Taliban official. Timothy, the MP for West Suffolk and shadow justice secretary, asked what action the Home Office was taking, whether visas had been granted to any speakers or attendees, and whether Mahmood was “content for it to go ahead.”
The letter and the concerns it raised were also covered by the British publication The Conservative Post. Its November 5 report detailed Timothy’s request for a Home Office investigation and examined the previous statements and alleged associations cited in his letter.
The letter named Azzam Tamimi, CAGE International senior director Moazzam Begg and CAIR-Michigan executive director Dawud Walid, all of whom were examined in Jewish Onliner’s original report. Timothy cited Tamimi’s 2004 statement to the BBC that he would sacrifice himself for “Palestine” if given the opportunity, a U.S. Department of Defense document prepared for a 2004 military tribunal identifying Begg as “a member of al Qaida and other affiliated terrorist organizations,” and a 2012 sermon in which Walid asked who had incurred the wrath of Allah before answering in Arabic, “They are the Jews, they are the Jews.”
Hamas “Special Envoy” and Muslim Brotherhood Figure No Longer Listed
Azzam Tamimi, whom Jewish Onliner previously identified as having been described as a Hamas “special envoy” and a “leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain,” is no longer listed as a conference speaker. The descriptions appeared in a 2016 Sunday Times report and a 2014 article published by Ikhwanweb, the Muslim Brotherhood’s official English-language website.
Tamimi appeared as a featured speaker on an archived version of the conference website captured on September 14, when Jewish Onliner published its initial investigation. He is no longer included on the current page.
On October 21, The Thinking Muslim announced that Tamimi was “unable to attend” and that Mazen Mokhtar had been added to the program. The organizers did not publicly state why Tamimi withdrew.
New Conference Speaker Was Investigated Over Websites Linked to Taliban Fundraising
The conference’s newly added speaker, Mazen Mokhtar, is the chief executive officer of Baitulmaal, an Irving, Texas-based international humanitarian charity registered as a 501(c)(3). Muslim American Society tax filings also identify Mokhtar, under several spelling variations, as the organization’s executive director during the mid-2010s, including fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The most notable episode in Mokhtar’s public background concerns a 2004 federal investigation involving a website he registered and administered. Contemporary Washington Post reporting said authorities were investigating whether Mokhtar had worked with British terrorism suspect Babar Ahmad through a network of websites connected to Azzam Publications.
According to an affidavit described by the newspaper, Mokhtar’s website, minna.com, was an exact replica or mirror of websites operated by Ahmad. Investigators alleged that the sites solicited funds for the Taliban and Chechen mujahideen and said copies of Azzam Publications websites were found on Mokhtar’s computer.
A second Washington Post report said Homeland Security agents searched Mokhtar’s New Jersey home and seized computer files and other records. Court papers alleged that Azzam Publications administrators and individuals in the United States had worked together to solicit funds for the Taliban and Chechen mujahideen.
Begg Accuses MP of Islamophobia"
Moazzam Begg responded to Timothy’s letter by opening, “Met with the Taliban? Are you thick, Nick?” and later telling the MP he was “late to the Islamophobic party.” Begg did not deny meeting Taliban figures.
Begg also disputed the U.S. government’s assessment of his alleged al-Qaeda membership. The September 2004 military tribunal summary nevertheless contains the language quoted by Timothy and alleged that Begg had recruited individuals for al-Qaeda training camps, provided financial and material support to them, and received training at such facilities. Those allegations formed part of an administrative military proceeding and were not established through a criminal conviction.
The conference’s website continues to list Begg and Dawud Walid among its speakers, with the venue identified only as West London.