The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Islamic Centre of England Limited, to which it previously issued an official warning.
Last month, the Times reported that the regulator was looking into a speech made by one of the charity’s trustees. The trustee reportedly described protesters in Iran as “soldiers of Satan” and condemned women who remove their hijabs as spreading “poison”.
The Commission has been engaged with the London-based charity over recent years. It issued an official warning after two events held at the charity’s premises in 2020 that eulogised Major General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US air strike and subject to UK sanctions.
A follow-up case in 2021 concluded that the charity, whose charitable purposes include advancing the religion of Islam and education and welfare among the Muslim community, was only partially compliant with the actions set out in the warning and identified further regulatory concerns.
These included concerns about the content of the charity’s website and the trustees’ management of conflicts of interest, and led to the Commission issuing an action plan.
The Commission has identified that the trustees have failed to fully comply with the action plan and official warning and a number of further regulatory concerns also remain.
According to the regulator’s data for the financial year ending 31 December 2021, the charity's total income was £485,621 and its reporting is up to date.
The charity has yet to respond to Civil Society News’ request for comment.
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