The Mayor of Rotherham has stated that Britain can only be made great again, or saved, by implementing Sharia law.
False. We could find no evidence that the former Mayor of Rotherham for 2025/26, Councillor Rukhsana Ismail, pictured with the posts, had said that Britain needs to implement Sharia law. There’s no evidence the new Mayor of Rotherham made these comments either.
False claims that the Mayor of Rotherham said that Britain “can only become great again by implementing Sharia law” have been circulating again on social media.
Many posts on Facebook attributing the comments to the politician, or making similarly worded claims, include an image of Councillor Rukhsana Ismail, who served as the Mayor of Rotherham for the 2025/26 municipal year. The posts have gained thousands of reactions and comments between them.
But we could find no evidence that Councillor Ismail ever said this.
We debunked the same bogus claims earlier this year, when they were shared alongside a video of Councillor Ismail speaking in Arabic.
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