Faith in Charity - Charity regulator reaches out to Muslim charities in London

Press Release

17 March 2008

Muslim charities based in and around London will get the chance to meet the Charity Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit (FSCU) on Tuesday 18 March. Commission staff will explain the work of the new team, and listen to views on how to develop its service and help charities perform as effectively as possible.

The Charity Commission has established this dedicated service to provide support and expert advice to faith-based charities. The London meeting follows a similar event earlier this month in Birmingham and will provide advice on a number of key areas including: the implications of the Charities Act 2006 for faith-based charities, in particular for mosques and other Muslim charities; and the benefits of charity registration and the process involved. Expert Commission staff will also be on hand to answer delegates’ questions on the day.

At the event delegates will hear from Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission; Rosie Chapman, Director of Policy and Effectiveness at the Charity Commission; Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit; and Yousif Al-Khoei from the newly launched Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB). Representatives from the British Muslim Forum, Muslim College, and the Three Faiths Forum will also be invited to comment on the work of the new faith team.

Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit said:

“Faith-based charities are one of the fastest growing elements of the voluntary sector, and they make a huge contribution to communities across England and Wales. I’m delighted to be leading the Commission’s new Faith and Social Cohesion Unit as we work hand in hand with the Muslim community to strengthen the governance of existing charities, and promote the valuable contribution they make to society; and also encourage more organisations to register with us, so they can enjoy the benefits of being a registered charity, and take advantage of the expert advice the Commission offers.”

"Having held the first of our outreach events in Birmingham, we are now eager to hear from people within the Muslim community in London. There are 486 Muslim charities throughout Greater London, and together they generate over £69 million, so it's clear that this community plays a vital role in the life of the capital city, and beyond.”

Khurshid Ahmed, Current Chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) said:

“We welcome the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit’s second event with Muslim organisations, and are pleased to be taking part in the event. It is heartening to see the Commission’s new team working closely with various Muslim organisations, charities and mosques, to ensure that governance within charities is strengthened, helping faith communities play their legitimate role in building a true and vibrant society, and advancing community cohesion. The members of the MINAB are looking forward to working closely with the new team on this and many more outreach events across the country.”

This is the second of the new Faith and Social Cohesion Unit’s events and will take place on Tuesday 18 March at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel and Conference Centre, 4-18 Harrington Gardens, London SW7 4LH. The FSCU’s first event was held in Birmingham on 5 March, and was attended by over 170 delegates.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Ghulam Rasool (in Urdu or English) or any of the other speakers at the event please contact: Jo Saunders on 020 7674 2528, Sarah Miller 020 7674 2366, or for out of hours: 07785 748 787

Faith in Charity: Charity regulator reaches out to Muslim Charities in the North-West

Press Release

15 October 2008

Muslim charities based in the North-West of England will get the chance to meet The Charity Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit (FSCU) on Thursday 16th October as it launches its work in the region. Commission staff will explain the work of the new FSCU, and listen to views on how to develop its service and help charities perform as effectively as possible.

The Charity Commission has established the FSCU to provide support and expert advice to faith-based charities. This event will provide advice on a number of key areas including: the implications of the Charities Act 2006 for faith-based charities, in particular Muslim charities, and mosques; and the benefits of charity registration and the process involved. Specialist Commission staff will also be on hand to answer delegates’ questions on the day.

At the event delegates will hear from;

• Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit
• Rosie Chapman, Executive Director of Policy and Effectiveness at the Charity Commission
• Councillor M Afzal Khan, Manchester City Council and former Lord Mayor
• Abdul Hamid Qureshi- Lancashire Council of Mosques
• Munawer Rattansey, representing Yousif Al-Khoei, the Chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB)
• Maulana Zafar Mahmood Mujaddidi, a local Islamic scholar

Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit said:

“Faith-based charities are one of the fastest growing elements of the voluntary sector, and they make a huge contribution to communities across England and Wales. I’m delighted to be leading the Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit as we work hand in hand with the Muslim community to strengthen the governance of existing charities, promote the valuable contribution they make to society; and encourage more organisations to register with us, so they can enjoy the benefits of being a registered charity, and take advantage of the expert advice the Commission offers.”

"There are approximately 182 Muslim charities generating almost £19 million in the North-West alone, so it's clear that this community plays a vital role in the life of the city. This is an important area to us in terms of the vibrancy and strength of the Muslim community and we look forward to hearing the views of local people."

Munawer Rattansey, representing the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) said:

“We welcome the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit’s latest event with Muslim organisations, and are pleased to be taking part again. It is heartening to see the Commission’s new team working closely with various Muslim organisations, charities and mosques, to ensure that governance within charities is strengthened, helping faith communities play their legitimate role in building a true and vibrant society, and advancing community cohesion. The members of the MINAB are looking forward to working closely with the new unit on this and many more outreach events across the country.”

This is the latest of a series of Charity Commission events organised by its Faith and Social Cohesion Unit, and takes place on Thursday 16th October at The Sheridan Suite, Oldham Road, Manchester. The FSCU has already hosted events in London and Birmingham and has recently completed a successful Ramadhan media campaign to encourage charity registration amongst Muslims organisations which has seen more than 1,000 visits to the Commission’s website as a result.

More help for mosques from Charity Commission

Press Release

2 June 2009
The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has published practical guidance to help the trustees of mosques draw up their annual report and accounts. Many mosques are registered charities, meaning that they enjoy reputational benefits, receive tax breaks and can access free specialist advice and guidance from the Commission.

The online example of the trustees’ annual report is for a fictional mosque which also operates a community centre and sets out what trustees must do to comply with charity law when reporting on their activity annually. The fictional example highlights how the new requirement for charities to report on public benefit sits within the existing structure of trustees’ annual reports and illustrates how these reports can be adapted to include public benefit reporting.

Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Charity Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit (FSCU), said:

“We have produced this example trustees’ annual report to offer guidance to mosques on how best to report on their work, including the public benefit that they provide to their community. The example is not a template, but we hope it will prove a useful tool for trustees as they report on their public benefit for the first time in the next set of annual accounts published after 31 March 2009.

“The example allows mosques to envisage in a practical way how their own trustees’ annual report might look as they move towards reporting on public benefit. We are committed to assisting charities to comply with the new reporting requirements and this guidance has been produced in response to requests from the sector. There are currently 455 mosques registered as charities, I would encourage any mosques with questions about charity registration and governance to visit our website for advice and guidance.”

The new example report accompanies the Commission’s existing public benefit guidance and is available from the website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk under ‘Public benefit guidance’.

Faith in Charity - Commission’s first faith events a success

8th April 2008

Hundreds of representatives from the Muslim community have attended the first two events hosted by the Charity Commission’s Faith and Social Cohesion Unit. The Charity Commission has established this dedicated service to provide support and expert advice to faith-based charities.

The events, held recently in Birmingham and London, were designed to give invitees the opportunity to hear more from Commission staff about the work of the new team, and listen to views on how to develop its service and help charities perform as effectively as possible. Around 300 people in total attended the events, representing mosques, Muslim charities or voluntary organisations, and national and regional Muslim umbrella organisations.

The events also provided advice on a number of key areas including: the implications of the Charities Act 2006 for faith-based charities, in particular for places of worship including Mosques and other Muslim charities; and the benefits of charity registration and the process involved. Expert Commission staff were on hand to answer delegates’ questions on the day.

At both events delegates had the opportunity to feed back in ‘round table’ sessions; where subjects included how young people are involved in Mosques and charities, what their definition of ‘good governance’ is, and what people’s experience of dealing with the Commission has been.

Speakers at the two events included Dame Suzi Leather, Chair of the Charity Commission; Rosie Chapman, Director of Policy and Effectiveness at the Charity Commission; Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit; and Yousif Al-Khoei and Khurshid Ahmed from the newly launched Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB).

Comments from delegate feedback forms included:

• “The way we were briefed and explained to made us understand that we can work together positively to build a better future for us all”
• “(We would like) more regular meetings with organisations so we can work closely to tackle our local issues that affect out communities as a whole”
• “I gathered all the information I wanted about the running of the Charity Commission.”
• “Round Table consultation was a good thing. This gave us a chance to say what we needed for our charities.”

Ghulam Rasool, Head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit said:

“It has been really encouraging to see so many members of the wider Muslim community talking with us about how we can work together and help faith charities be more effective. We have had lots of good feedback from the two events which will be extremely helpful in developing the work of the faith team. We want to continue to engage with faith charities and we will be using the information we have gathered from the events to help shape our thinking as we move forward. We also hope that these events will have encouraged charities that have not already registered with us to do so and understand the benefits of registration.”

Third Sector article: An Imam for all seasons

Newsmaker: An appealing combination

By Emilie Filou, Third Sector, 5 December 2007

Ghulam Rasool

Ghulam Rasool, head of the Faith and Social Cohesion Unit at the Charity Commission, aims to improve governance among religious charities.

The main themes of Ghulam Rasool's life are education and faith. He has always worked in these areas and even counts working in inter-faith settings and improving social cohesion as hobbies. No wonder he gets a little frustrated when asked to sum up his career. "My life is very diverse and my employment doesn't reflect the full picture," he says.

Rasool is a trained imam, a qualified teacher and an inter-faith charity champion. He is also head of the new Faith and Social Cohesion Unit at the Charity Commission. "The words 'faith' and 'social cohesion' were an appealing combination," he says. "Faith is not seen negatively, but as something that can bring people together."

Rasool's day-to-day job is likely to be more practical than this observation suggests: the unit's main task is to improve governance among religious charities. Work will start with Muslim organisations. "Our intention is to work with all faiths, but we have to start with one group because of resource issues," he says. "Islam is the second-largest religion in the UK and the fastest-growing."

The commission has 343 mosques on its register, but there are more than 1,200 in England and Wales. The unit's work will include improving the governance of registered mosques and encouraging others to sign up.
Rasool says the main issue will be to challenge the perception that the commission is there only to apply the law and police people's faith. "We need to explain the benefits of registration," he says. "Many charities face issues of financial sustainability, something tax relief could help with. But registration will also improve their governance and accountability by giving them access to support and guidance."  Another problem is awareness. "The people who run mosques are capable but, like everyone else, they can upgrade their knowledge," he says.

These issues were raised in a number of consultations organised by the Charity Commission, religious bodies such as the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body and government departments. He says this explains why Muslim charities got first pick.

"There has not been anywhere near the same level of interest in and consultation with other faiths," he says. "I'd like to see more commitment from other groups to keep the momentum of the unit's work going."
The unit is recruiting seven outreach workers and managers who will work in four areas: Yorkshire, the Midlands, London and Lancashire. Rasool is based in Birmingham and commutes to London three days a week.

The funding - £1.2m from the Department for Communities and Social Cohesion - runs out in 2009, at the same time as the programme for Muslim organisations ends. The commission is looking for new sources of funding to ensure other faiths can benefit from lessons learnt with mosques.

Rasool insists the project does not mean that religious charities are receiving an unfair amount of attention and funding. "Faith-based charities are a growing and vibrant part of the sector," he says. "It's an important element of modern-day Britain; our consultations suggest there is a desire for more interaction with the commission."

He is also adamant that the faith unit will not be linked to the terrorism unit. "Our policy is that both worlds are kept separate because, once they become linked, they pollute our vision and corrupt our independence."

Religious charities will be under the spotlight in 2008. The unit will be fully staffed by the New Year, public benefit requirements will come into force and a number of previously excepted and exempted religious organisations will have to register with the commission. One thing is clear: Rasool is in for a busy year.

Rasool CV

• 2007: Head of Faith and Social Cohesion Unit, Charity Commission
• 2007: National mosque capacity-building coordinator and membership development officer, British Muslim Forum
• 2001: Secondary school teacher
• 1998: Imam and homework club coordinator
• 1996: City challenge & urban renewal housing community caseworker, Black Country Housing Association
• 1993: Community and benefits adviser, Citizens Advice Bureau.

Sh Samir with Sh Sultan Niaz @ Halaqa 2007

Sh Samir to teach Ayyuhal Walad