The designer of a controversial 'Palestine poppy' is an Oxford-educated NHS paediatrician who has written books for teenagers on Islam that justify stoning.
Abdul Qader Ismail, 41, from Birmingham, describes himself as a 'middle-aged, cake-baking, horror movie-watching, British-Pakistani, Muslim' father-of-two.
But the trainee paediatrician – who has worked at hospitals across the East Midlands – is facing accusations of 'hijacking' Britain's national symbol of remembrance, and has written books that express support for capital punishment under Shariah law.
He sells an enamel pin with a 12-sided poppy surrounded by the colours of the Palestinian flag on eBay for £1.78, describing it as a 'symbol of unity with the beleaguered, oppressed and occupied people of Palestine'.
The website for the poppy also features a video carrying the slogan 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', which has been interpreted by Jewish organisations as a call for the destruction of Israel.
Dr Ismail says the badges are sold on a non-profit basis, with all proceeds given to charities working to 'end the occupation' of Palestinian territories.
But veterans have accused the paediatrician of piggybacking on the symbol and potentially diverting much-needed revenue away from the Royal British Legion (RBL), which owns the rights to the 'official' two-petal poppy design.
Dr Ismail's series of books, entitled An Introduction to Challenging Topics for Muslim Teens, covers concepts such as stoning and homosexuality for a readership of older children. It is available for sale via Amazon and Waterstones, published by Islamic publishing house Invitation Publishing.
Abdul Qader Ismail, 41, is the creator of the 'Palestine poppy' that has infuriated veterans
The badge is sold on eBay for £1.78 on a 'not-for-profit' basis – with the proceeds donated to charities that advocate for Palestinian people
In the first volume, Dr Ismail suggests punishments such as stoning are justified because they prevent Muslims from engaging in forbidden acts and ultimately 'mov[ing] away from Islam'.
He recounts a religious tale of a man who was stoned to death after begging to be 'purified' for the sin of fornicating. After his death, he was said to be 'swimming in the rivers of paradise'.
'These punishments are meant to serve as a deterrent... and any excuse is found not to apply them,' he wrote.
'Even when they are put into practice it is still a blessing from Allah, since it will mean we pay for our sins in this life and avoid punishment in the hereafter.'
Dr Ismail describes homosexual feelings and gender dysphoria as 'tests from Allah' in the second volume, and suggests anyone experiencing them pray for help.
However, he does suggest trans and gay people should not face persecution, and that Muslims should obey the laws of the country they live in rather than seeking to apply Shariah law themselves.
On the Palestine Poppy website, Dr Ismail describes the poppy as the 'national flower of Palestine' and notes that 12,000 Palestinians are thought to have fought the Nazis in the Second World War.
The Palestine Poppy website features a promotional video bearing the controversial slogan: 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'
Dr Ismail is also the author of a series of books on Islam targeted at teenagers and children, in which he justifies the use of capital punishment under Shariah law
He said he foresaw the badge becoming an 'anti-apartheid symbol... to be worn until the people of Palestine have their freedom'.
One of the charities benefitting from the sales of the badges is Friends of Al-Aqsa, an organisation described as 'far-Left and Islamist' in a 2024 Home Office report whose founder Ismail Patel once said 'we are all Hamas'.
The RBL says that, as an organisation, it is 'non-partisan and non-sectarian', and that the poppy is a 'unifier of people and communities'.
But decorated Iraq veteran Trevor Coult MC told LBC yesterday that he believed the badge 'adds no value' and was 'just there, in my opinion, to cause hatred'.
He added: 'You’ve got people out there that just want to cause division and cause hurt. There’s no money from this poppy sale going towards helping any veterans.'
The row comes just a week after pro-Palestine protesters trampled on poppy wreaths as they climbed London's Battle of Britain monument – days after the three-year anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attacks in Israel.
According to an online CV, Dr Ismail graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in medicine in 2010, and later completed a PhD at the University of Leicester. He is listed as the co-author of dozens of articles on neonatal medicine.
The Spectator reports that Dr Ismail is a member of the Green Party and that he sponsored the controversial 'Zionism is Racism' motion at the party conference that was described by Prime Minister Andy Burnham as 'anti-Semitic'.
It has been reported that Dr Ismail backed the controversial 'Zionism is racism' motion proposed at the Green Party conference by Lubna Speitan (pictured)
It has since emerged that the motion's proposer, Lubna Speitan, was described in US court documents as the 'friend' of a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist and once said she would be 'happily labelled an "anti-Semitic Hamas terrorist"'.
A copy of the conference's agenda, seen by the Daily Mail, also lists Dr Ismail as the sponsor of two other motions – calling for an end to sanctions on Iran and for councils to engage in BDS (boycott, divest, sanction) practices that hurt Israeli businesses.
Records show the Palestine Poppy website was established at the end of 2023. The pins were listed for sale on eBay by the end of summer 2024.
They are presently described as 'out of stock'.
The RBL told GB News that 'people are free to choose to wear different poppies' – though the charity itself was criticised in 2024 after releasing a poppy badge with a Pride flag attached.
The Daily Mail has contacted Dr Ismail for comment.