The Charity Commission has issued an Official Warning to the
Islamic Centre of England Ltd (registered charity
1058998) as it found the trustees failed to discharge their
legal duties towards the charity, which has resulted in
misconduct and/or mismanagement.
The charity was set up to advance the religion of Islam and
education among the Muslim community and operates in London.
On 3 January 2020 the trustees allowed a candlelit vigil to be
held at the charity’s West London premises in response to the
death of the Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani has
been subject to financial sanctions by HM Treasury for terrorism
and/or terrorist financing since 17 October 2011 following a
designation under the Terrorist Asset Freezing Etc Act 2010.
The event risked associating the charity with a speaker who may
have committed an offence under the Terrorism Acts, as the
speaker was filmed during the event appearing to praise and call
for support for Soleimani. The trustees failed to intervene or
provide a counter narrative.
The following day the trustees organised a further event for
Soleimani and published statements on the charity’s website
offering condolence and praise for him.
The trustees clearly failed to take account of regulatory advice
and guidance issued by the Commission in January 2015 regarding
the hosting of public events and the selection of speakers. They
also put the charity’s reputation at risk.
As a result, the regulator has exercised its power under section
75A of the Charities Act 2011 to issue an Official Warning to the
charity. This requires the trustees to take specific steps to
review content on the charity’s website and ensure appropriate
consideration is given and risk assessments conducted for any
future events held at the charity’s premises.
Tim Hopkins, Assistant Director of Investigations and Inquiries at
the Charity Commission said:
Through their actions the trustees have failed in their legal
duties towards this charity, putting its reputation at risk.
Any charity being associated with terrorism is completely
unacceptable and we are concerned by the corrosive effect this
might have on public confidence in this and other charities.
Charities exist to improve lives and strengthen society, so it
is vital that trustees honour their responsibility to act in
the best interests of their charity at all times. We expect the
charity’s trustees to comply with the required actions to
address our concerns.
The Official Warning is published here. The Commission has an
ongoing regulatory case into the Islamic Centre of England Ltd.
Failure to comply with the actions set out in the Official
Warning may lead to further regulatory action being taken by the
regulator as part of its ongoing case.
Ends.
