Regulators have opened dozens of investigations into UK Muslim charities over the last five years following weapons discoveries, the unmasking of extremists in religious schools and allegations of terrorist financing, analysis of official data shows.
The Charity Commission publicly announced some 125 new inquiries of charities in England and Wales since the start of 2014, with more than 35 related to Muslim groups and causes. Documents show some of the investigations are related to allegations of extremist preaching at charity-run schools and suspicions that money raised for Syrian relief efforts was being funnelled to terrorists.
The new investigations were among those launched after two damning reports in 2013 and 2014 that criticised failures by the commission to regulate the sector and crack down on abuse of the system. A report by UK lawmakers in 2014 found that the commission was “too willing to accept what charities tell it, without verifying or challenging the claims made”. The government’s auditor said last year that it had “improved significantly” since 2013. [The National] Read more
