Charity Commission will harass Muslim-run charity organizations

The government announced earlier Wednesday that it was proposing giving the Charity Commission, the regulatory body for British charities, more powers to be able to freeze charity bank accounts and suspend or remove trustees, reported Rasa News.

The proposals included banning people with convictions from being a charity trustee, disqualifying a person from being a charity trustee if the commission finds them "unfit," shutting down charities which are under investigation and issuing official warnings for less serious cases.

The proposals came after a cross-party committee of lawmakers described the Charities Commission in February of this year as being "not fit for purpose."

Reacting to the announcement of the proposals, the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said: "The reality is that the Charity Commission will have more teeth to harass innocent and law-abiding Muslim-run organizations."

In a statement to The Anadolu Agency, the IHRC said: "Given that the government’s definition of extremism now incorporates a latitudinous range of beliefs and behavior, it will allow the Commission to target a larger number of charities, simply on account of the religious and/or political beliefs they or their partner organisations appear to hold."

Similar sentiments were also expressed by Cage, an organization which campaigns on behalf of people wrongly accused of crimes under the so-called "war on terror."

Cage spokeswoman Amandla Thomas-Johnson told the AA: "It seems as though the government is slowly turning the heat up on Muslim charities."

A number of Muslim organizations have had their bank accounts closed down over the past year.

In August, Finsbury Park mosque, international development charity the Ummah Welfare Trust and the think-tank Cordoba Foundation all received letters from HSBC bank giving them notice that their accounts were being closed.

"These actions again have created further suspicion of Muslim charitable donations," said Amandla.

Cage said the move was unfair, especially given that a poll last year revealed the British Muslims gave more to charity than any other group in the U.K.
/SR