NHS trust wants to “better understand” why its chaplain met Taliban

A Muslim NHS chaplain remains on his trust's payroll despite meeting with the Taliban Minister of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan last month.

Last week, the National Secular Society wrote to St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust after photographs emerged of their Muslim chaplain imam Suliman Gani (pictured; right) meeting with Taliban Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi (left) in July.

Muttaqi has been described as "a key figure in the Taliban's ideological projects" and as more "extreme on social issues than most of the Taliban". He is subject to economic and travel sanctions by the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee.

The NSS said the meeting "casts serious doubt on Gani's judgement" and "raises grave questions about his suitability to work as an NHS chaplain at public expense".

In its response, the trust said "we appreciate your concerns" and they "intend to meet with Imam Gani on his return to better understand the circumstances surrounding his visit and any potential implications".

The trust said they had not been informed of Gani's meeting in advance and understand he travelled to Afghanistan "in his own personal capacity as part of a charity delegation – with Human Aid and Advocacy – to deliver humanitarian aid and understand challenges".

Professor Anthony Glees, a security and intelligence expert at the University of Buckingham, has said the meeting "is all part of the Taliban's 'out-reach' programme".

He added: "It might be that [Gani] is misguided, and his aid mission is being exploited by the Taliban. If that is the case, then he is a useful idiot for this regime".

The UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy's code of conduct requires chaplains to "uphold the reputation of healthcare chaplaincy" and to "act with integrity, sensitivity and understanding". Chaplains should also treat patients "with equal respect and dignity". The trust has not stated whether Gani will face disciplinary action or dismissal.

Gani: homosexuality "unnatural", women "subservient"

The meeting is not the first time Gani has courted controversy. In 2013, it was reported he had described homosexuality as "unnatural" on television.

He said: "If somebody does come to me and say that they have this inclination, then I will say think about the consequence of your action, how harmful it is for yourself and the society at large.

"Abstain from that unnatural act, and you make that firm resolution that you will never return to that action again."

A Taliban judge has said for "homosexuals, there can only be two punishments: either stoning, or he must stand behind a wall that will fall down on him."

Gani has also said women are "subservient" to men, adding any "countries that entrust their affairs in the hands of women will not be successful".

A group of UN experts says "the situation [in Afghanistan] has significantly regressed to the pre-2002 period, and women are denied their fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights to education".

On the same evening that Islamic State killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris, Gani appeared at an event in Bedford where speakers are reported to have told British Muslims to "struggle" for an "Islamic state".

NSS: Chaplain's conduct "deeply troubling"

NSS campaigns officer Alejandro Sanchez said: "It is deeply troubling that an NHS chaplain, employed at public expense to care for vulnerable people in hospital, is meeting with Taliban officials.

"We are also disturbed by Gani's record of wildly homophobic and misogynistic statements.

"The UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy's code of conduct requires chaplains to 'uphold the reputation of healthcare chaplaincy'. The trust must now think very carefully about whether his conduct is in keeping with this."