Abdurahman Sharif, the executive director of Muslim Charities Forum, will step down after six years in which he said the sector has faced challenges but has shown solidarity and strength.
Sharif will become the director of the Somalia NGO Consortium, based in Kenya.
Speaking to Civil Society News, Sharif said that the organisation has grown significantly since it was formed six years ago by some of the leading Muslim NGOs, when it was just "me, a computer and a desk".
Sharif started as a coordinator, before becoming operations manager and then executive director.
He said the organisation had been set up to act as a voice for the sector in the face of a difficult operating environment, but it had taken it a long time to be accepted in that role.
Sharif has said that a highlight of his time at the MCF is the organisation’s relationship with Acevo, which its chief executive Sir Stephen Bubb has previously spoken about.
Sharif also said he is extremely “proud of and happy about is the amount of solidarity that there is in the sector”, adding “we may have different backgrounds and beliefs or values but we all united in believing that the sector is really vital in improving the lives of people both in the UK and in many countries around the world”.
He said the organisation has spoken out about issues including Charity Commission perceptions and investigations of Muslim charities, and when counter-terrorism legislation became a permanent issue for the sector, they spoke out about that too.
Sharif said: “Imagine if the MCF was not there speaking out about these issues, imagine how these issues would have been different. And I think at those crucial times it was important to have an organisation such as MCF in place.”
Sharif said the future for the organisation and his successor will depend on the outcome of the election but that it would be slightly easier for whoever joins than when it was formed six years ago. He said: “There are obviously still challenges ahead that one would face but I think there is a lot of scope to continue building and making the sector”.
Sharif will be taking on the “challenging” role in Kenya from 1 June and believes that the skills and experience that he has gained of working in “difficult circumstances” while at MCF will be of great use.
MCF is currently recruiting for Sharif's replacement.
