The Charity Commission is looking into a mosque that hosted a conference honouring the late Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Al-Hussain Masjid, on Bellot Street in Cheetham Hill, held the event on Sunday August 16 under the title ‘The Shohada [Martyrs] Conference’, billed as ‘a special evening commemorating the life, sacrifice and legacy of the martyred leader’.
Event Details and Speaker
The Manchester Evening News has seen footage and social media material relating to the event, which has been passed to the Charity Commission. One speaker, Sayyid Haider Hassanain, gave a lecture titled ‘Sayyid Khamenei: A life of lessons for today’. The mosque is operated by the Shia Welfare Association (SWA), a registered charity, and also runs a youth movement programme, Abul Fadhl Youth (AFY). The event was shared on AFY’s social media page.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “We take extremely seriously any allegations of the misuse of charities to promote the interests of hostile states or extremism and will act robustly, within our powers, to deal with such misuse. We are aware of concerns about an event that allegedly took place at Shia Welfare Association, also known as Al-Hussain Mosque, as well as concerns about past comments made by an invited speaker. We are assessing information available to us to determine any appropriate action or response.” There is no suggestion the mosque has committed any crimes.
Context and Scrutiny
Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader since 1989, was killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on February 28. In his final days, the 86-year-old oversaw the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, which saw tens of thousands of people killed by regime forces. While praising Khamenei is not illegal, the investigation comes amid heightened scrutiny of UK charities and organisations with alleged links to the Iranian regime. The UK government treats Iran as a hostile state actor due to its continuous state-backed threats, espionage, and security violations.
The Charity Commission updated its guidance to charities in March concerning the evolving situation in Iran, warning trustees about risks including political activity and the potential for charities to be abused for extremist purposes. The regulator has also asked the government for the ability to shut down rogue charities, saying that existing legal powers were insufficient to deal with non-profits accused of links to the Iranian state.
Mosque Response and Further Events
Imtiaz Kazmi, from Al Hussain Masjid, said he didn’t believe there was anything improper about the event. “That was a normal event, there was nothing special in there. There was nothing special in that programme,” he told the MEN. Mr Kazmi asked if praising the late Ayatollah was illegal, before adding: “This is legal… We are Shia Muslims and he’s our leader. The main Ayatollah is our leader.”
The mosque and associated organisations have promoted other events referring to Khamenei and martyrdom. In March 2026, AFY Girls group invited followers to a candlelight vigil in Manchester honouring the late Ayatollah. In April, the mosque’s official website advertised a commemoration of the 40th day after the ‘martyrdom of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Khamenei’. Another video co-authored by AFY shows portraits of the supreme leader and flags of the Islamic Republic fluttering in the background. AFY Girls also promoted a programme telling its audience that martyrdom was a conscious choice made by figures who ‘saw the truth, stood firm, and chose martyrdom’.
Another speaker at the August event was Sayed Ammar Kazmi, a political and legal campaigner who hosts a programme on Press TV, Iran's state-backed broadcaster. The channel had its licence revoked by Ofcom in 2012 and is not allowed to broadcast in the UK. On his programme, titled ‘Attrition’, Mr Kazmi once talked about alleged ‘Zionist subversion’ of Labour and accused pro-Israel groups of manufacturing an antisemitism crisis in the party, of which he was a former member. In July 2026 he reported from Tehran during Khamenei’s state funeral.
Wider Investigation and Expert View
Earlier this year, Lord Walney published his report, ‘Undue Influence’, detailing how different groups with charitable status operating in the UK have had senior figures associated with them who ‘have held senior positions within Iranian regime-linked clerical and policymaking institutions’. Eight of the 10 charities identified are under active Charity Commission investigation. One is the Islamic Centre of England, in London’s Maida Vale, which has faced controversy for its alleged ties to the Iranian regime.
A charity law expert, who spoke to the MEN on condition of anonymity, said the Manchester event must be investigated by the Charity Commission. The spokesperson added: “They should consider whether the trustees allowed the charity’s premises and resources to be used for activities inconsistent with its charity objectives and exposed it to extremist or terrorist abuse. That is precisely the risk addressed by the Commission’s recent guidance following events in Iran, which warned charities to scrutinise political activity carefully and promised a robust response to evidence of links with extremism or terrorism.”
The MEN put these allegations to the Shia Welfare Association. A spokesperson from the management team said the programme was conducted by a third party on its premises and it would be ‘undertaking its own internal investigation into this matter’. They added: “We believe we have fulfilled our duties correctly with due diligence and risk assessments on these activities. It is our understanding that memorial programmes are within the remit of our charity, based on English charity law. As you stated yourself, this is a legal activity which we believe is consistent with the guidelines of the Charity Commission. We have yet to receive any communication on this matter from the charity commission and can offer no further comment.”
