In a video, the Mayor of Rotherham says in Arabic that Britain can only be great again by implementing Sharia law, and demands the expulsion of all non-Muslims, including British citizens.
False. Councillor Rukhsana Ismail does not make these comments in the footage being shared. She is actually saying a blessing in Arabic, as part of a longer video message—in which she also speaks in English—about the month of Ramadan.
A video has been widely shared on social media with false claims that it is footage of the Mayor of Rotherham calling for Sharia law and the deportation of non-Muslim UK citizens.
But that’s not what the clip, which has circulated widely on X and Facebook, actually shows.
It features Councillor Rukhsana Ismail, a Labour councillor for the Rotherham East ward, speaking to the camera in her ceremonial role as the Mayor of Rotherham.
In the short clip currently circulating she speaks in Arabic. Text included with some of the posts sharing it says: “Muslim mayor of Rotherham in the UK says that Britain can only be great again by implementing Sharia law, and demands the expulsion of all Non Muslims! Including British Citizens.”
That is not what Councillor Ismail actually says in the video, however.
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