The Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) is an umbrella organisation for UK based Muslim-led charities whose primary goal is to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world.
It is also an associate member of
British Overseas NGOs for Development
British Overseas NGOs for Development (commonly called Bond) is the United Kingdom membership body for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in international development. Established in 1993, Bond now has over 400 members. These range fro ...
(Bond), the UK membership body for non-government organisations and a member of
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922). NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an ...
(NCVO), an organisation with 11,000 members that champions the voluntary sector and volunteering.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Muslim Charities Forum is Moazzam Malik.
Fadi Itani OBE currently serves as the Chief Executive.
The organisation faced hostile media reporting after one of its members alleged ties to political and non charitable entities in an article in the ''Telegraph''. Days later however, the ''Telegraph'' made a correction in its print edition.
The Charity Commission had previously confirmed in 2009 that the alleged connections of an MCF member to the those entities were unfounded.
Background
Muslim Charities Forum was founded by the initiative of Hany El Banna and was registered in the United Kingdom as a charity in November 2008.
Its members include well-known UK based international Muslim-led NGOs, including African Relief Fund, African Development Trust
Human Appeal,
Human Relief Foundation,
Islamic Help
Islamic Help is a UK based charity that was founded in 2003 and works both internationally and within the UK. According to their registration with the UK Charity Commission, “Islamic Help provides humanitarian assistance all around the world. S ...
,
Islamic Relief
Islamic Relief Worldwide is a faith-inspired humanitarian and development agency which is working to support and empower the world’s most vulnerable people.
Founded in the United Kingdom in 1984, Islamic Relief has international headquarter ...
UK, Muslim Charity,
Muslim Hands
Muslim Hands is an international Non-governmental organization in over fifty two countries worldwide to help those affected by natural disasters, conflict and poverty. The organisation was established in 1993 in Nottingham, UK.
History
Muslim ...
, Ethar Relief, Read Foundation, and Ummah Welfare Trust.
Activities
The Muslim Charities Forum helps members to provide better services and raise awareness of the work members are doing abroad. It aims to improve British Muslim charities' contribution to international development by promoting the exchange of experience, ideas and information amongst members, between networks of NGOs in the UK and internationally, with governments, and other bodies with an interest in international development.
On 4 November 2009, Muslim Charities Forum organised a workshop on ''
zakat
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ne ...
'', or giving alms, one of the
Five Pillars of Islam
The Five Pillars of Islam (' ; also ' "pillars of the religion") are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree on ...
. The focus of the workshop was to find a common view for the understanding of ''zakat'' between several organisations working in relief and international development. The workshop concluded with a consensus that further sessions were needed with scholars and delegates on the concept of ''zakat'' and to provide a general narrative on the general understanding of ''zakat'' and other charitable giving and its uses.
On 10 December 2009, Muslim Charities Forum organised a workshop on institutional funding and partnerships. The aim of the workshop was firstly to identify opportunities to build stronger relationships between institutional donors and Muslim-led NGOs, and secondly, to promote partnerships both between Muslim-led NGOs and other types of organisations. The event was highly successful and very well attended, with participants from both Muslim and non-Muslim organisations, including the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), Bond, Muslim Hands, Euclid Network, Islamic Relief, DFID, CAFOD, and Oxfam GB.
On 22 January 2011, the Trustees of Muslim Charities Forum met with Prime Minister of Pakistan
Yusuf Raza Gilani
Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. He ...
. The Prime Minister said that it was heartening to note that the Islamic charitable and humanitarian organisations are performing well to serve the cause of humanity in different parts of the world. He also lauded the contribution of representatives of the Muslim community in UK and elsewhere both for their community as well as for the country they are living in. The charitable organisations, he added, serve as a bridge between the country they are living in and the country of their origin.
On 9 December 2014, El-Banna told MPs and peers scrutinising the draft Protection of Charities Bill that anti-terror legislation could make it impossible to deliver overseas aid to certain locations.
On 5 March 2015, the
Overseas Development Institute
ODI (formerly the 'Overseas Development Institute') is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the p ...
, in a report compiled with support from Muslim Charities Forum, argued that counter-terrorism legislation is making banks increasingly reluctant to deal with charities working in conflict zones, particularly in Muslim countries, and without government action their access to funds could dry up.
The Government announced in July 2016 that Muslim Charities Forum, along with other third sector organisation BOND, were to be part of a Treasury working group that would look into the effects of counter-terrorism legislation on humanitarian organisations.
Misunderstanding
The organisation has received £110,169 from the UK's
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government ...
, and was scheduled to receive a further £140,000 under the Faith Minorities Action Project, an initiative aimed at encouraging integration by promoting inter-faith work, improving the role of women in faith, reducing youth crime, and offering child protection training.
This was withdrawn after a piece in the Telegraph alleged that an MCF member had links to extremist organisations.
MCF denied this and released a statement. In a written statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government alleged that the “Muslim Charities Forum has failed to reassure us that they have robust measures in place to investigate and challenge their members”.
The organisation responded that they were "unfounded allegations" and the role of MCF is not a regulator but rather a good practice aggregator.
References
Peace and Democracy in the Middle East Rely on a Thriving Civil Society Says Stephen Bubb, Member of the Clinton Global Initiative
External links
*{{Official website, https://www.muslimcharitiesforum.org.uk
Islamic charities based in the United Kingdom