Dozens of civil society figures have protested against the Charity Commission’s decision to impose interim managers at the Islamic Centre of England.
The regulator appointed managers to take over the charity last month as part of an ongoing statutory inquiry, saying the trustees had failed to comply with their legal duties.
In their open letter to the Charity Commission, the group claimed the regulator’s actions were “politically motivated” and fitted a pattern of “deliberately harassing and hindering the work of Muslim-run charities”.
The regulator hit back at its critics, saying any claims it had acted beyond its power were “misleading”.
The letter is supported by charities including the Al-Qaem Foundation and Shia Welfare Association, but also scandal-hit figures such as Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP who was suspended from the party after questioning its approach to anti-semitism, and Stephen Sizer, a retired vicar found to have “engaged in anti-semitic activity”.
It is also signed by Cage, an advocacy group once heavily criticised by then-London mayor Boris Johnson.
The commission opened its inquiry into ICE in 2022, saying it was acting after “extensive engagement with the charity over several years”.
That included an official warning after two events held at the charity’s premises in 2020 that honoured Major General Qasem Soleimani, who was subject to UK sanctions.
The regulator said in October last year that it was also assessing a speech made by Seyed Moosavi, one of the charity’s trustees, in which he described protesters in Iran as “soldiers of Satan”.
In March, Tom Tugenhadt MP, the security minister, described ICE as “a vile threat” to the country.
Today’s letter, published by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which was itself heavily criticised in a government-commissioned review of anti-extremism legislation, said: “We believe that this decision is politically motivated and serves the interests of Islamophobes who have been targeting this diverse community centre and place of worship.
“Rather than remaining a neutral arbitrator and serving to address any genuine shortcomings that may exist, you have shown a biased approach and used punitive measures that unfairly penalise Muslim charities.”
The campaigners say the commission “failed to protect the best interests of a Muslim religious centre and its congregation” by imposing a manager “who is not from that faith community”.
The letter adds: “It is wholly unfair that a Muslim charity is treated in this way due to the perception of it not conforming to Western foreign policy interests.
“Naturally, this behaviour will add to the chorus of voices accusing the Charity Commission of deliberately harassing and hindering the work of Muslim-run charities and adds to the litany of oppressive measures carried out in aid of furthering Islamophobic British state policies and the agendas of politically motivated and divisive pressure groups.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Third Sector: “The circumstances in which we can appoint an interim manager to any charity under inquiry are set out in the Charities Act 2011 and the commission must determine when it is considered necessary and proportionate. It is a temporary, protective measure.
“The Charity Commission is an independent regulator. Any suggestion we have acted beyond our statutory objectives, functions and obligations as a public body is misleading.”