"It was not my intention to offend anyone"
Dr Asif Munaf, who stars in the upcoming series of The Apprentice, has received diversity and inclusion training from the BBC after a string of “anti-Semitic” social media posts.
The former medic is one of the 18 contestants in the 18th series of the BBC One show, which begins on February 1, 2024.
In a post on X, Dr Munaf said Zionists are a “godless, satanic cult’ who are “odiously ogre-like” and said he hoped his children were “strong enough” to “overcome the trial of the Zionist antichrist”.
A spokesperson for The Apprentice said:
“After filming had taken place, we were made aware of concerns over social media posts that Asif had made after he had left the process.
“As soon as we were alerted, we took immediate action and spoke to Asif in detail on this.
“Asif took part in specialised training to understand why his posts may cause offence.
“We are committed to providing an inclusive environment on and off screen.”
According to a source, if Dr Munaf’s posts emerged before filming began, he would not have been allowed on the show.
In a statement, the wellness brand owner said:
“I apologise for any offence caused by my online content/social media.
“It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I am of course open to all views.
“The beliefs I hold and have shared are based on the values that I was brought up with.”
At least three of his tweets remain online.
In a post sent on October 19, 2024, he wrote:
“My sons have been alive during a once-in-a-century pandemic and an apocalyptic genocide during their first five years on earth.
“I pray they are strong enough physically, spiritually and psychologically to overcome the trial of the Zionist antichrist.”
“Hard times create strong men.”
Dr Munaf has also made several derogatory comments about women and in one video, he asked:
“Have you ever met a beautiful feminist?”
Commenting about the Israel-Hamas war, a post from December 20 read:
“Since the genocide began, Muslim Zionists have crawled from under their rocks. I knew of a few before the current ethnic cleansing.
“By the sheer volume is staggering. Many are unsurprisingly from the Indian subcontinent Colonial inferiority complex. Hideous ogre-like creatures.”
Dr Munaf has also promoted an X account called the University of Masculinity, which has previously retweeted a series of posts by misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate.
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