The charity regulator has opened a statutory inquiry into an Islamic charity which was previously warned over a ‘divisive’ sermon.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales announced yesterday that it has opened an inquiry into the Abdullah Quilliam Society, which aims to “promote correct knowledge and understanding of Islam”.
The charity had already received an official warning after the National Secular Society raised concerns about a sermon (pictured) urging Muslims to “wage war for Allah”. The sermon was broadcast live on the charity’s Facebook page less than two weeks after Hamas attacked Israel in 2023.
The investigation was launched after the charity posted a video to its social media in June described as potentially “political, divisive and inflammatory” by the commission.
The video, which has been removed, was apparently taken from a sermon delivered at the charity’s premises in Liverpool.
It suggested named senior members of the Government had received donations from the “Israeli lobby”, according to the commission.
In 2021, Essex MP David Amess was murdered by Islamist Ali Harbi Ali. Ali said his motives were Amess’ sympathies for Israel, as well as his voting record on UK airstrikes in Syria.
The video also accused the commission of being unduly influenced to ‘silence’ trustees.
The inquiry will “evaluate the general administration, management, and governance of the charity by its trustees to determine whether there has been mismanagement and / or misconduct on the part of the trustees”.
It will also examine whether the sermon’s content “was in furtherance of the charity’s objects, and in its best interests”, and determine whether the charity updated its policies following its official warning.
Abdullah Quilliam Society’s registered charitable purposes include “the advancement of religion”. It is one of over 40 charities the NSS referred to the commission over statements regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict.
This included Central Oxford Mosque Society, which received an official warning from the commission over “divisive and inflammatory” cartoons it posted on social media.
The commission said it has opened more than 300 regulatory cases involving charities supporting different sides of the Middle East conflict. It has issued formal statutory guidance to charities in around 100 of these cases, and has made more than 70 referrals to the police.
The commission also announced yesterday it has issued an official warning to a charity supporting Israeli soldiers after the charity published a “distressing” video.
NSS: “Extremely concerning” sermon was published despite official warning
NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson said: “We welcome the Charity Commission’s decision to escalate its intervention into Abdullah Quilliam Society.
“However, it is extremely concerning that even after receiving an official warning, the charity continued to host and disseminate inflammatory sermons, this time targeting named politicians.
“Charities are meant to provide a public benefit. Sermons like this do the opposite – they stir up existing community tensions.
“We again urge the Government to review the charitable purpose of ‘the advancement of religion’ and its role in enabling charities to advance divisive ideologies.”