CHARITY COMMISSION WARNS TWO UK MOSQUES OVER ANTI-ISRAEL VIEWS

The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent.

Thu 07 August 2025:

The UK’s charity regulator has issued an official warning to two British mosques over their involvement in “inflammatory and divisive language” against Israel following the start of its genocidal war on Gaza.

The Central Oxford Mosque Society and The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent were found to have “failed to prevent their platforms being misused to communicate inappropriate material” by the Charity Commission of England and Wales.

The investigations were launched after “concerns were raised” about anti-Israel views being expressed or shared on the mosque’s platforms.

The official warning against the Central Oxford Mosque Society was issued on 13 June 2025 while the Islamic Centre of Brent’s warning was issued on 7 May 2025.

Charity Commission Assistant Director for Investigations and Compliance, Stephen Roake commented on the warnings, saying: “We recognise that recent events in the Middle East are emotive and distressing. But it is precisely in times of conflict that charities are expected to bring people together, not to stoke further division. Trustees of charities have a legal duty and responsibility to ensure everything their charity does is capable of furthering its purposes, and must also take steps to protect the charity’s assets, including its reputation.

“Sadly, in the case of these two charities, the trustees failed to have appropriate processes in place, and allowed their charity’s names and reputations to be exposed to serious harm through inflammatory and divisive language, and in one case, seeming to associate the charity with a proscribed organisation. We expect the trustees to continue to take swift action to address the respective concerns.”

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Central Oxford Mosque Society

The Commission opened a case into the Central Oxford Mosque after concerns were raised about posts on the charity’s social media platform in October and November 2023.

One provided information on what to do if arrested at a protest and advertised the services of a specific private solicitor’s firm.

Another featured a graphic cartoon which seemed to criticise media reporting of the conflict. A third post included another cartoon suggesting the media misrepresents the situation in Palestine.

Both cartoons were shared by the charity just three days after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The Commission considered that the sharing of these cartoons could create “community tensions.”

The Commission concluded that the posts were outside the charity’s purposes, and that two were divisive and inflammatory but the regulator acknowledges that, since it gave the charity notice of its intention to issue an official warning, the charity’s trustees have taken steps to address the concerns.

The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent

The Charity Commission opened a case after concerns were raised in the media about speeches held at the charity’s premises, while the khutbahs were promoted on the speaker’s social media channel.

The watchdog determined that of five speeches given at the charity’s premises in November and December 2023, four included inflammatory and divisive content, two contained content that could “reasonably be interpreted as encouraging support of Hamas”, a proscribed organisation in the UK, and one could be “reasonably interpreted as discouraging worshippers from engaging with democratic processes.”

The regulator found that, at the time of the speeches, the charity did not have effective policies in place to manage risks related to speakers at the charity.

In response to the regulator’s concerns, the charity’s trustees did not demonstrate that they fully understood the risk of reputational harm being caused by the khutbah and were unable to offer “adequate assurance” that they would take action to prevent a similar incident in the future.

However, the Commission did note that, since it gave the charity notice of its intention to issue an official warning, the charity has adopted a written policy on speakers.

Concerns over Islamic free speech

Concerns have risen that freedom of speech for Muslims is under attack in Britain at a time when many are criticising Israel over its genocide in Gaza.

The Charity Commission has investigated several mosques over their pro-Palestine or anti-Israel speech, and has warned against mosques expressing views which are mainstream across the Muslim-majority world and the pro-Palestine solidarity movement.

On 1 August, 5Pillars reported on an investigation which has been launched by the charity watchdog into the Abdullah Quilliam Society in Liverpool over an anti-Israel and pro-Palestine sermon by Imam Ajmal Masroor, which called for the dismantlement of Israel and criticised the UK government for ties to the Israel lobby.

During the passionate talk, he condemned Israel for its bloody war on Gaza, and called for the “racist state” to be peacefully dismantled and replaced with a multi-faith Palestinian state.

Imam Ajmal Masroor giving a Khutbah at the Quilliam Society mosque.

“Israel is an apartheid state. Israel is a racist state. Israel is a colonial project which must be dismantled today and a new state must be established for all people, regardless of their faith. Whether they are Jews, Christians and Muslims.

“A state for all people abiding by the international law that we have, giving value to every human being that there is.”

Masroor also pledged to continue speaking up for Palestinian rights regardless of the consequences, including action by the Charity Commission.

He said: “We are Muslims! The Charity Commission can investigate as many Imams as they want. Oh Charity Commission, I tell you this to your face, you can be lobbied by the Israel lobby every day; you will not silence me or the imams or the Ummah.”

During the last 18 months, the Charity Commission has opened more than 300 regulatory cases involving charities supporting different sides of the Middle East conflicts. It has issued formal statutory guidance to charities in around 100 of these cases, and has made more than 70 referrals to the police where it considers a criminal offence might have been committed.

The Charity Commission describes itself as the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales.

They claim their ambition is to be an expert regulator that is “fair, balanced, and independent.”

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 61,020 Palestinians and injured 150,671 others since 7 October, 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry has said.

The ministry added that since 27 May, when Israel introduced a controversial US-backed aid distribution mechanism, 1,568 aid seekers have been killed and more than 11,230 injured.

By: RobCarter

This article is republished from 5Pillars. Read the original article.