By Maira Butt
The Muslim faith and charities are “inextricably intertwined”, says the chief executive of the Charity Commission.
David Holdsworth, referring to the £200 million contributed by British Muslims to charitable projects every year added: “Both here and around the world, the bond between faith and charity is reflected in the foundations of your faith.
“It has been baked into the framework of the law that has defined charity in the UK for centuries. The advancement of religion is the original charitable purpose. Parliaments and governments over generations have recognised the impact that faith has had has been enormous. That continues to shape our communities and our society.”
Mr Holdsworth, speaking to the Muslim Charities Convention, revealed that of the 9,000 requests to register charities last year, and the 5,000 successful applications, 178 mentioned the Islamic faith in their charitable objectives. Referring to the latest Census data, which reveals that more than two-thirds of the UK population consider themselves to belong to a faith, he added: “The link between faith and charities is not just historic, but it is alive and thriving.”
The convention, which is held every two years to explore the contributions and challenges faced by British Muslims in the charity sector, was held at the ILEC conference centre in southwest London.
Commenting on the current difficulties in conferring aid to Gaza, Mr Holdsworth explained he had attended a round table to discuss challenges: “We don’t involve ourselves in politics at the Charity Commission, but we do have a duty to enable charities to deliver their charitable purposes.”
Other speakers included Moazzam Malik, chief executive of Save the Children and former UK ambassador to Indonesia; Hassan Damluji, co-founder of the Global Nation think tank and former deputy director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, a renowned Islamic scholar and founder of Cambridge Muslim College; and Dr Shabna Begum, director of research at the Runnymede Trust.
Mr Damluji explored the importance of dignity in charity work, reiterating the central role of self-possession and cultural capital in the third sector, as opposed to handouts. “Development without dignity is nothing,” he said, providing examples of those from deprived communities who had felt their hand forced by undignified circumstances.
After a brief discussion on good governance, the event opened up for a series of workshops including: Charity Starts at Home, Sustainable Models of Investment, Breaking the Mould: Transformative Projects, Women Leading Change, Innovation for Good”, and The Power of Philanthropy”.
Sammey Ahmed, a support worker for Deaf World West Midlands, stressed the importance of accessibility for deaf Muslims, and said their support needs were often overlooked. The Charity Starts at Home panel — which included Shakil Sidat, director of operations at the National Zakat Foundation, Taha Bokhari, lead analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and Ayub Seedat, chief executive at Here for Youth — discussed the importance of local initiatives in a community that often chooses to send its charitable funds overseas.
Meanwhile, Dr Sofia Buncy inspired hope during theWomen Leading Change” workshop by saying that Muslim women were often celebrated in mainstream leadership positions where they may be overlooked in their own communities. She described the personal challenges she faced in her own career journey.
The event also marked the launch of the Muslim Charities Forum Women’s Network, which was founded after a report by the organisation found that 42 per cent of Muslim charities were led by women. The group described their vision as: “To empower and elevate senior Muslim professional women by providing tailored support through mentorship that fosters career advancement, confidence, and leadership.”
Dr Begum emphasised the importance of building unity as she cited Zohran Mamdani’s campaign to become mayor of New York. Entrepreneur Kamran Rashid shed light on the unique opportunities available within social enterprise.
Fadi Itani, chief executive of the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF), which runs the convention, issued a challenge to attendees: “We need to stop being delivered by fundraising, by numbers, by how many people have been fed and so on,” he told the audience. “We need to be led by smarter impacts for our programmes that change lives.”
He added, referring to the war in Gaza: “Our charities need to think about being smart, about how to make a difference to change policies, to stop war crimes, to change things that need changing.”
The King, in a letter to the MCF, apologised for not attending the convention, thanked the sector for its contributions and sent his congratulations for discovering and recognising the “remarkable contributions” British Muslims had made to society.
The event closed with a speech on “Doing good, the right way” by Dr Murad. Before his speech, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), the singer-songwriter, made an appearance.
Dr Murad referred to scripture in identifying the crucial role of charity in the Islamic faith. “The charitable sector is the most successful, forward-looking part of British Islam,” he said, calling the work in the third sector one of the “great success stories of modern British Islam”.
He added: “Most of the mosque trustees and administrators are still first generation [who] are struggling to articulate Islam in a way that actually helps young people in particular… Most of them are really struggling. But the charitable sector is racing ahead.”
He added that the Prophet Muhammad would have applauded that charity was one of the strongest and most unshakeable facets of the modern-day Muslim community.
