Asghar bukhari biography channel

Asghar Bukhari was roundly mocked online after posting allegations that "Zionists" stole one of his shoes.

Asghar Bukhari is a British Muslim campaigner and political commentator.

Thousands have now mocked a British Muslim leader's comments by using the satirical slogan "Mossad Stole My Shoe" - but the man behind the hashtag says it was intended to expose anti-Semitic attitudes in Muslim communities. He said his home was burgled, only a single shoe was stolen, and claimed it was a deliberate tactic of intimidation by Zionists.

Despite the alleged theft, Bukhari told BBC Trending he didn't contact the police after the incident: "I really couldn't see what they would have done. But his suggestion that pro-Israel forces were behind the act was roundly mocked online with the hashtag "Mossad Stole My Shoe" , external. It was used by a mix of people, including liberals from Muslim backgrounds, conservative commentators, Israelis and supporters of Israel.

To be clear, Bukhari never specifically mentioned Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, only "Zionists", though he did later use the hashtag in the caption to a response video , external. The tag was used more than 16, times and other related ones such as ShoeishConspiracy were also trending. Not only did various memes crop up mocking Bukhari's allegations, but his shoe also became the subject of a Twitter account , external and and a jokey Change.

Call me. Please everyone, pray for safe return of Bukhari's shoe," wrote one journalist. Political satirist General Boles joined in the mocking with this Photoshopped picture. Asked about the satire, Bukhari told us he felt he was being targeted by supporters of Israel. The hashtag was popularised and driven by Maajid Nawaz, a former radical Islamist turned liberal activist and chairman of the anti-extremist foundation Quilliam.

By mocking something like this, I hope to make it more taboo and less acceptable for Muslims to spread these kinds of conspiracy theories. Nawaz claims MPAC doesn't have huge grassroots support, but at the same time says "the views they hold are widely held among some Muslim communities - too widely held for my comfort.