Amazon is funding an ‘extremist’ charity whose founder supports child marriage and stoning people to death as punishment for adultery, it emerged last night.
Under its charitable scheme Amazon Smile, the tech giant donates a percentage of customers’ money to the Muslim Research and Development Foundation (MRDF) – described as ‘the main Salafist organisation in the UK’.
The Salafi movement promotes a hardline interpretation of Islam and is linked with jihadism.
MRDF founder Haitham al-Haddad, 52, from Saudi Arabia, has been described as ‘one of the most dangerous men in Britain’ by the head of the Quillam Foundation, an anti-extremism think-tank. Despite this, the charity has become one of 6,000 – including the British Red Cross, Barnardo’s and Cancer Research UK – to join the Amazon Smile programme, which was launched in the UK in November last year.
The scheme allows shoppers to select a charity they want to donate to when buying a product. The retailer then sends 0.5 per cent of the purchase price to the charity.
Dr Haddad has been criticised for his chilling opinions on punishments for adultery and leaving the Muslim faith. He once said being gay was a ‘scourge’ and a ‘criminal act’.
In 2012, Dr Haddad, who has a doctorate from SOAS, University of London, said women who committed adultery should be stoned to death. Speaking of a woman’s role in a marriage, he said: ‘In Britain they keep saying equality, equality, but at the end of the day you are a female. You have certain rights; you cannot do certain things.’
Dr Haddad said the Japanese tsunami in 2011, which killed more than 15,000 people, was a just punishment for the country not being Muslim. On child marriage, he said: ‘The earlier the better, especially for girls, but you have to be careful of the legal issues.’
When a Muslim MP voted for gay marriage, he said: ‘If they have rejected Islam, hellfire awaits and their families should cut all ties.’
Emma Webb from the Henry Jackson Society’s centre on radicalisation and terrorism said Amazon had been ‘wildly irresponsible’ by donating to the group.
She told The Times that Amazon was ‘channelling ordinary shoppers’ money to the hands of intolerant extremists. That’s wildly irresponsible. It’s giving charities like MRDF a veneer of respectability they don’t deserve.’
Sara Khan, the Government’s counter-extremism commissioner, said: ‘Haitham al-Haddad’s views are misogynistic, racist and homophobic.’
Amazon said all of their charities were approved by the Charity Commission, but added: ‘Due to the serious nature of these concerns, we have referred these allegations to the commission and will be conducting a full review.’
A spokesman for Dr Haddad said it would be inaccurate to portray him as ‘an extremist hate preacher’. His words, the spokesman said, had been taken ‘out of context’.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
