Some Muslim staff associations within British policing may be coming into conflict with the principle of police impartiality, a new report by Policy Exchange revealed on Monday.
“Mixed Messages: Police Impartiality & the National Association of Muslim Police” examines the activities of the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) and local force-level Muslim Police Associations, finding examples of the organizations becoming involved in highly contentious policy issues and platforming individuals and organizations with “questionable backgrounds.”
The NAMP was established in 2007 at an event held at the British Transport Police headquarters to act as “an umbrella organization [sic] for local Associations of Muslim Police.” By 2021, NAMP claimed to have 1,000 members in police forces across the country. Of the 43 “Home Office” forces of England and Wales, 20 police forces (43.5%) have a local Muslim Police Association.
A NAMP policy paper, titled “From Past Prejudices to Present Policies: Confronting anti-Muslim hatred and Promoting Human Rights,” dated July 20, 2025, was recently brought to public attention for describing Zionism as “one of the manifestations of anti-Muslim hatred, stripping Muslims of their humanity” and referring to the IDF as one of a number of “Zionist terrorist groups.”
The paper also defended Hamas against what it described as “alarming and unverified stories about acts of violence” committed during and after the attacks of October 7, 2023.
This policy paper was written by Khaldoun Kabbani, who was listed as the chair of the Scottish Police Muslim Association and vice president of the NAMP.
NAMP removes controversial policy paper after JLC intervention
Following intervention by the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), NAMP removed the paper from its website and issued a statement asserting that it did not support terrorism and that the document did not represent its views, despite the fact that the paper carried NAMP’s logo, appeared on its website, and was written by its VP.
Elsewhere on the NAMP website is a 2023 press release claiming that “using terms such as ‘Islamist’ reinforces Islamophobia, by creating a higher risk of extreme right-wing radicalization, it also re-enforces a narrative that makes an association between Islam and terrorism, creating a greater risk of radicalization amongst vulnerable Muslims.”
During the recent NAMP Annual General Meeting 2026, held at Greater Manchester Police, attendees heard from speaker Majid Iqbal of the Islamophobia Response Unit.
Iqbal is known for an interview he gave in July 2024 after a violent incident at Manchester Airport where police officers clashed with two men attempting arrest. Iqbal criticized the “unjustifiable action of the police, the violent actions of the police.” The video circulated of the incident showed only the police response to the two men, but not what preceded it: passenger Mohammed Fahir Amaaz assaulting another passenger and then breaking a police officer’s nose.
Policy Exchange said Iqbal’s presence at NAMP’s Annual General Meeting “raises several questions about NAMP’s approach and decision-making.”
“First, how committed is NAMP to contributing to the confidence of the wider public in policing when they are willing to provide a platform to an individual – Mr. Iqbal – who made claims that the police acted in a way which was ‘violent’ and ‘unjustifiable’ following the circulation of clipped social media footage which did not provide the full context of the incident at Manchester Airport?” the paper asks.
Policy Exchange examines conduct of Hasson Shigdar
The report also discusses the activities of Superintendent Hasson Shigdar, a senior West Midlands Police officer and vice-chair of the West Midlands Association of Muslim Police.
It argues that Shigdar, who is also head of Prevent for the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, has shared material online from organizations with questionable history and associations. For example, he tweeted his support for Green Lane Mosque, which had its proposed government funding suspended in 2023 after accusations emerged of hate speech and extremism.
“If policing is to reassure the public that impartiality is not merely a commitment which police chiefs and police officers consider to be an anachronism, they – and government – must act decisively to regulate this arena, which has been allowed to become an ungoverned space for activists,” Policy Exchange said.
It encouraged the Home Secretary to bring forward new legislation – a “Police Impartiality Act” – to set out the impartiality requirements for all Chief Constables, police forces, and policing related bodies,
“The recommendations for greater rigor in the governance and operation of Police Staff networks are a key step in maintaining impartiality,” said Michael Stewart, former national security senior practitioner. “Senior officers must be prepared to challenge the views of Staff Networks and their members when those views are unbalanced or too narrowly focused on a particular group.”
“When Staff Networks in policing publicly involve themselves in matters of policy, which are rightly the preserve of elected governments and ministers, those networks and their leaders are going way over the line,” said Chris Donaldson, former police inspector and firearms commander with the Metropolitan Police and founding member of the National Black Police Association.