Father of 11 children on £27k 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