Jihadist doctor who ran terror group reinstated in UK
Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) has reinstated a jihadist physician who cheered the October 7th massacre in Israel and was suspended for running a terror group.
‘Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!’
Dr. Wahid Asif Shaida has been practicing as a general practitioner in West Yorkshire for over 20 years. Patients were unaware that he also served as the head of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir. In January, then-Home Secretary James Cleverly designated Hizb ut-Tahrir a terror organization. Membership in the group is punishable with 14 years in prison.
Days after October 7th, Shaida publicly praised the Hamas attackers as mujahideen (jihad fighters) who dealt Israel “a very welcome punch on the nose.” He also led marches in front of the Turkish and Egyptian embassies in which he and other members of Hizb ut-Tahrir called on the Islamic governments to invade Israel.
At one march, a speaker asked the crowd: “What is the solution to liberate people in the concentration camp called Palestine?” The crowd, which included Shaida and his followers, responded, “Jihad! Jihad! Jihad!”
“Victory is coming and everyone has to choose a side,” Shaida told the Muslims who had gathered. “Whose side are you going to be on?”
NHS: ‘Insufficient evidence to warrant removing Dr Shaida’
After The Mail on Sunday exposed Shaida in an October report, he was suspended by the NHS pending an investigation. The jihadist physician set up a fundraising campaign on CrowdJustice, where he raised £51,981 ($67,160) to fight his suspension.
On Tuesday, The Daily Mail reported that the NHS has cleared Shaida to return to work.
“We take any issues relating to professional conduct seriously and have procedures in place to make sure that individuals are fit to work in the NHS,” an NHS London spokesman said. “Following a thorough investigation, the evidence regarding Dr Shaida's conduct and practice was considered by an NHS England Panel at an oral hearing on 11 July, in accordance with regulations and published policy.
“No evidence was found that he has had involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir since the organisation was proscribed [as a terror group],” the spokesman added. “The panel found there was insufficient evidence to warrant removing Dr Shaida from the performers' list, but decided that conditions should be imposed, to manage a safe return to practice, for both staff and patients.”
The NHS did not reveal details of those conditions.
The General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates doctors, is conducting its own investigation into Shaida.
