The Charity Commission has been accused of “deliberately harassing” Muslim-run charities after the watchdog investigated a controversial Iranian organisation.

The Islamic Centre of England (ICE), dubbed the “London office” of Iran’s brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was closed and its trustees stripped of power three weeks ago amid an ongoing statutory inquiry by the charity watchdog.

The inquiry, which was launched last year after ICE failed to compile an anti-extremism “action plan”, was ostensibly opened “due to serious governance concerns and follows extensive engagement in recent years which includes issuing the charity with an Official Warning.”

The commission issued the centre with a warning after it held a vigil to mourn the IRGC terrorist mastermind Qasem Soleimani when he was killed by a US drone strike.

The JC has previously revealed that the Maida Vale-based centre has regularly hosted extremist preachers and that its director, Seyed Moosavi, the UK representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called protesters against the regime “soldiers of Satan”.

Last year, the premises was used to film an Iranian regime propaganda video of a song called ‘Hello Commander’ in which children sang verses that alluded to an apocalyptic massacre of Jews.

The charity watchdog appointed a solicitor as an “interim manager” to run its affairs “due to the trustees’ failure to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities,”

According to the Commission, “interim managers” are used as a protective measure and appointed when misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of a charity has been identified.

Signatories of the strongly worded letter, which was published in full on the Islamic Human Rights Commission website on Wednesday, include former Labour MP Chris Williamson and disgraced reverend Stephen Sizer.

Islamic Centre letter

An open letter written to the Charity Commission over its statutory inquiry into the Islamic Centre of England (ICE)

The letter accuses the Charity Commission of not being a “neutral arbitrator” and harbouring “a biased approach”, while failing to address “any genuine shortcomings that may exist.”

“It is concerning that the Charity Commission continues to tell religious communities what they can say and who they can invite to their centres. The Commission is not qualified to determine what religious communities should be discussing, it is not the business of any state body to tell its citizenry what they can say or believe in their places of worship,” the letter read.

It further charges the commission with a lack of understanding of “the needs of the Islamic centre and its congregation” by appointing an interim manager “who is not from the faith community” and “not aware of its spiritual and religious needs”.

Islamic Centre closure notice

A notice appeared on the gates of the premises (Photo: Staff)

The letter claims it is “wholly unfair that a Muslim charity is treated in this way due to the perception of it not conforming to Western foreign policy interests.

“Naturally, this behaviour will add to the chorus of voices accusing the Charity Commission of deliberately harassing and hindering the work of Muslim-run charities and adds to the litany of oppressive measures carried out in aid of furthering Islamophobic British state policies and the agendas of politically motivated and divisive pressure groups.”

Islamic Centre ICE

An invitation from the 'Friends of Islamic Centre' to protest 'against the charity commission's takeover' of the Islamic Centre of England, May 31, 2023

A protest against the charity commission’s “takeover” of ICE will take place Thursday evening outside the centre, and will feature “short talks, recitations, and congregational prayers.”

A Charity Commission spokesperson told the JC: "The circumstances in which we can appoint an Interim Manager to any charity under inquiry are set out in the Charities Act 2011, and the Commission must determine when it is considered necessary and proportionate. It is a temporary, protective measure.

“The Charity Commission is an independent regulator. Any suggestion we have acted beyond our statutory objectives, functions and obligations as a public body is misleading.” 

The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is “to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.”