Islamic charity linked to Iran shuts weeks after watchdog tried to take control

Islamic Centre of England tells worshippers it has suspended activities until further notice

The Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale, London, has suspended its activities until further notice. Alamy

A British charity run by the UK representative of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, has closed only weeks after the aid watchdog removed its trustees.

The Charity Commission this month announced it had removed the trustees from the board of the Islamic Centre of England over its links to Iran.

The London charity has previously received warnings from the watchdog after an unofficial speaker at the centre, Massoud Shadjareh, praised Qassem Suleimani, the deceased commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force.

He called Suleimani, who the UK had designated a terrorist, a “dedicated soldier of Islam”. Suleimani was killed by a US drone strike in January 2020.

In another incident last year, trustee Seyed Hashem Moosavi described protesters in Iran as “soldiers of Satan”.

On Wednesday, a note appeared on the gates of the charity's headquarters announcing it had suspended prayers and programmes until further notice. It said: "After receiving the concerns of the community and for their safety, we are saddened to inform you that all upcoming programmes, including prayers, have been suspended until further notice."

The centre has not responded to The National's request for comment.

An interim manager was appointed this month by the commission.

The regulator started an inquiry into the centre in November 2022 over concerns about its governance.

The watchdog said Emma Moody had been appointed manager “due to the trustees’ failure to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities and their failure to protect the charity’s assets”.

The Charity Commission told The National on Thursday that its investigation was continuing.

"We are aware of developments," it said.

"Our inquiry is ongoing and we remain in close contact with the interim manager we appointed to the charity earlier this month."

There have been mounting calls for its closure and the chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns previously described the commission's move as a “significant sanction”.

“This is the first step for all of us who have long campaigned for the closure of this cut-out of the IRGC,” she said.

“It makes clear that all is not well and I hope the inquiry will conclude that the IRGC has no place operating on British soil.

“This is a significant sanction and one of the most powerful interventions they have.”

Last year The National revealed the charity had received about £240,000 ($300,465) – £129,556 in 2021 and £109,476 in 2020 – from the government’s Covid-19 furlough programme.

It was given the funding despite having received an official warning from the Charity Commission.

In the latest inquiry, the commission ruled that the trustees had failed to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities, while neglecting to protect the charity’s assets.