Father of 11 children on £27,000 a year benefits refuses to work, says he is obeying God's first command to 'go forth and multiply'.
A father of 11 who claims up to £27,000 a year in benefits says
he does not believe in contraception - and admits the government pay for the
upkeep of his children. Mohammed Salim and his wife Noreen claim up to £27,000
per year in handouts from the government and alarmingly hasn't worked for the
past 10 years.
Their family of 13 live in a 4-bedroom house in Manchester
& often travel by minibus. Mohammed, who is appearing on a new TV
programme, said on the show that he has no regrets about fathering 11 children,
even though “it is the government who pay for their upkeep, food and clothing”.
“Having 11 children I don’t think is irresponsible, we don’t
believe in contraception, we are following God’s first command, he said ‘go
forth and multiply’,”
Mohammed said it isn’t his fault that he has spent 10 years
on the dole and the system is failing him, adding:
“I have got qualifications and real work experience. I’ve
been forced on to the dole because I’m unemployed. I am expected to do at least
seven job applications a week. I’m better off on the dole than working on a
minimum wage.” he told Channel 5’s On
Benefits: 26 Kids And Claiming, a documentary about large families on benefits.
Mohammed has applied to work as an ICT teacher in Saudi
Arabia because he can’t find a job in the UK.
He said: “It’s a sad state of affairs. For the last ten
years I’ve failed to get any jobs or interviews. I am not getting the results.”
“I have been told to do taxi work but with the hours I would
have to put in to get a reasonable wage, I can’t do it, especially with young
children.”
Mohammed, who spends up to £300 per week on food for his
family, said he would struggle if his welfare bill was capped at £500 a week as
the government are currently proposing and he also forks out on modern gadgets
for his children who want iPhones.
He said: “We are feeding 13 people. £500 a week is not
enough, the costs are there, we are having to stretch and stretch. They want
that because it is the thing of the present day and you have to cough up,” he
said.
He added that with 11 children, there are so many birthdays
and religious festivals to remember and celebrate.
“Virtually every month there is something going on, if it is
not a birthday it is some kind of celebration, Christmas, Easter, Eid,” he
said. “It is a big pull on the little amount of benefits that we do get.”
Mohammed,a religious
man believes that there are more important things than money.
“I am the richest man in the world with these children,” he
said. “I have a big family, I am on benefits, there is a worry there but god
always sees us through
