A cleric who previously was accused of linking homosexuality with the “sexual abuse of children, polyandry and cannibalism” has been invited to speak at the Islamic society of a leading London university.

Hamza Andreas Tzortzis is due to give a speech this evening at 5.30pm entitled ‘Why Islam?’ at the Islamic society of Goldsmiths, University of London.

According to ‘The Islamic Far-Right in Britain’ website, Mr Tzortzis previously stated in an online article, which has since been deleted, that homosexuality should be viewed by Islam “as a crime”.

“Some people object to Islam making the public expression of homosexuality a criminal act. This is subjective and only strikes a chord amongst those who cannot escape the social constructs in their own societies. “There are societies past and present which accepted paedophilia and canabilism as normal parts of human life and they would find Western society oppressive preventing them from carrying out these practices. Like-wise some societies may view the legalisation of abortion and the enslavement of animals for human purposes as barbaric too. “Do you believe that rape and murder are relatively bad? Surely not, that would indicate that they can also be relatively good! Hence those who claim that making homosexuality a criminal act is wrong are totally inconsistent as they would have to objectively show that it is wrong – however they can not do that because, as discussed, that would mean they would have to believe in God – in any case, God says its wrong.”

In a YouTube video published in May last year, Mr Tzortzis rejected suggestions of homophobia, describing the accusations as “false” and based on “misrepresentation” of his philosophic views.

A statement on his website read: “Hamza does not call for the hatred, violence or discrimination towards the homosexual community. He has family members who are homosexual and his treatment towards them is one of cordiality and this is in keeping with the Islamic ethic of maintaining the ties of kinship.”

Goldsmiths Students’ Union told PinkNews: “Our student-led societies hold a range of events on campus aimed at our diverse student body. They must all be held in line with our Safe Space policy, which is modelled on one produced by the National Union of Students (NUS) and adopted by a number of universities.

“This particular event has been organised by students from the Islamic Society to mark Islamic Awareness Week and is designed to raise awareness of the faith. We have received no complaints about the event and our usual safeguards against discrimination and upholding Safe Space will be active during the event.”