An Islamic preacher who claimed it was better to be a paedophile or a murderer than miss prayers has been invited to speak in Britain.
Mohamed Hoblos, a prominent preacher from , has been banned from all of the Schengen zone nations, which does not include the UK, and was recently stopped by border forces from entering Germany and Holland.
Despite this, he is set to appear at events in cities across the country this month, including Birmingham, Manchester and London as well as one in Middlesbrough on Sunday February 23.
Amid a growing backlash, the Home Office has begun drawing up plans to block the cleric from entering the UK as he may pose a prospective threat to public safety following his incendiary language, The Telegraph reported.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for the preacher to be ‘issued a lifetime ban’ from visiting the country, adding: ‘People expressing these vile views should not be allowed into the UK.’
Hoblos previously sparked controversy after he told his Muslim followers that paedophiles and murderers who never miss a prayer are better, in the eyes of Allah, than good citizens who only miss one.
In a video of a 2017 lecture, he stresses the importance of prayer – known as Salah – in an impassioned two-minute speech.
But as Hoblos continues to ramble on, he tells his followers that anyone who misses one prayer is worse than a murderer, rapist, terrorist, or even a paedophile.
The clip begins with Hoblos asking his followers if someone who sells drugs, murders someone and rapes a child is ‘good or bad’.
‘This person, one person who commits all these sins on a daily basis – but he prays – is better in the eyes of Allah than the one who doesn’t commit any of these sins, but doesn’t pray,’ he says.
‘So you and your brother say: ‘Yeah, I’m a good guy’ – habibi (my friend), go and pack that up because it’s not going to work on the day of judgement.
‘Any person who misses one Salah (prayer) for no reason – you are worse than a murderer, you are worse than a rapist, you are worse than a terrorist, you are worse than a paedophile in the eyes of Allah.’
Mr Hoblos tells his followers to understand his teaching as ‘fact’ and something which should be ‘understood very clearly’.
But he also tells the congregation that all sin is still bad and should never be accepted.
Hoblos also went viral on TikTok last year after a meme on him was widely shared among users of the social media app.
In the thirty second clip, Hoblos talks about the hypocrisy of those who love Allah, but are unwilling to follow the Islamic way of life.
‘Everyone claims they love the prophet but nobody wants his Sunnah (teachings),’ he says.
‘What do you mean his Sunnah? Eat on the floor? Eat with your fingers? Grow a beard? Live simple lives?
‘Ew, brother ew. What’s that? What’s that brother?’
Hoblos himself has amassed a large following on social media, with one account using his name having amassed around 425,000 followers.