Survivors of several Islamist terror attacks in the UK have warned that British charities are being allowed to promote extreme Islamist beliefs and rhetoric, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
The victims fear that the Charity Commission, the government’s charity watchdog, is not doing enough to act when organizations harbor extremists, the outlet said.
Additionally, the victims believe that the British public is at risk unless the Charity Commission does more to “shut down charities that promote hate,” the report said.
The outlet noted that the victims’ warnings come amid a “series of long-running investigations” by the watchdog into a number of charities with “alleged links to the Iranian regime and other bodies accused of promoting antisemitic propaganda.”
The British government announced plans in March to strengthen the watchdog’s powers to shut down charities that promote extremism, but these have not yet been implemented, according to the report.
The terror victims believe that the watchdog’s “slow reactions in handling such cases are undermining Britain’s ability to counter influence from hostile states and risks allowing extremist narratives to spread,” the outlet cited.
Critics of the UK government’s charity watchdog identified several cases in which they say the Commission failed to adequately address charities with alleged links to extremists.
Charity watchdog investigating Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust for ties to Iranian regime
The Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust (IHRC) has been investigated by the charity watchdog since 2017 for its alleged ties to the Iranian regime.
The commission issued an official warning to the IHRC in March 2023 after a statutory investigation into concerns of “misconduct and/or mismanagement.” However, the case remains ongoing, and no enforcement or penalty against the IHRC has been published to date, the Telegraph reported.
The Islamic Center of England in London has also been under continued investigation by the Charity Commission, as it also allegedly holds ties to the Iranian regime.
The watchdog issued an official warning over two events held at the charity’s grounds, where a eulogy for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, who was subject to UK sanctions and killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
The Commission also opened regulatory compliance cases into the Dar Alhekma Trust and Abrar Islamic Foundation in 2024, and the investigations were expanded to examine claims that the two charities had platformed proponents of the Iranian regime. Both charities have repeatedly denied using their platforms to promote extremism.
The length and number of open cases into charities like the IHRC and others have drawn criticism from victims of extremism in the UK over the Charity Commission’s ability to handle allegations of extremism in charities.
Steve Gallant, who tackled the Fishmonger’s Hall terror attacker Usman Khan to the ground after he killed two students in November 2019, said: “The charity sector should not be providing cover for extremist networks or hostile foreign influence. The watchdog’s reluctance to act decisively risks undermining public trust in both the regulator and the wider sector.”
Charity Commission stands by its handling of extremist investigations
The Charity Commission defended its handling of cases of extremism in charities, maintaining that it does take assertive steps to root out charities that promote extremism and abuse the UK charity networks.
The Commission is also working with the government to develop existing powers to better respond to threats, including acquiring the ability to close charities that platform extremists.
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the UK Charity Commission has opened over 400 investigations into the potential misconduct of charities escalating conflict in the Middle East, and has given over 80 referrals to the UK police when the watchdog considered that a criminal offense might have been committed.
David Holdsworth, the Charity Commission’s chief executive, said: “The Charity Commission is clear that extremism and violence have no place in the charity sector and we take as robust action as possible, within the legal framework set by Parliament, to root out and tackle the few who abuse the status of charity to promote extremism and terrorism.”
In response to accusations that the commission has failed to uphold its mandate and act decisively to root out extremism in the charity sector, Holdsworth added that, “it is categorically untrue to say the Commission has not acted to investigate allegations about the charities highlighted. We have taken regulatory action in all these cases, including disqualifying trustees, while ongoing cases enable us to fully use the powers we have.”
“Protecting our democracy against the rising threats of extremism, terrorism, hate speech, or the malign influence of hostile states is a challenge for the whole of state and society. Successive governments have so far failed to put in place the strong, clear and enforceable powers to identify and tackle extremism the state needs,” he added in his interview with the Telegraph.
“Freedom requires boundaries and limits – the Commission plays its part in upholding and enforcing those limits, but we alone cannot draw and patrol those boundaries.”
