Charity Commission allows organisation to pursue charitable registration even after it publishes antisemitic “enemies of Allah” post
The Charity Commission has told Campaign Against Antisemitism that it will permit an organisation to continue to pursue charitable registration even after we alerted the regulator to an antisemitic social media post published by the group.
Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust appeared in a December social media post to describe Jews and Christians as “enemies of Allah” and warn its followers to stay away from them.
The organisation, which functions as a bookshop and was promoted by Brent Council, shared a post reading: “Keep away from the enemies of Allaah [sic] the Jews & Christians on their day of gathering during their festivities, for verily the anger (of Allaah) descends upon them and I fear that you will (also) be afflicted with it.”
The quotation is attributed to Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the second Rashidun Caliph, and is featured in Al-Bayhaqi Fi Shu’ab Al-Emaan, a collection of Hadiths compiled by Imam Al-Bayhaqi.
The image in the tweet was captioned: “Be warned of having any sort of involvement in the celebrations of the unbelievers, let alone Christmas whereby it is claimed that Allaah has begotten a son! Lest you may be afflicted with the anger of Allaah along with them!”
Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust describes itself as “a charitable trust based in North West London who work for the benefit and enlightenment of the local community.”
We wrote to Brent Council, which observed in its reply that the organisation was no longer listed on its website since we published our article, and to the Charity Commission.
The Commission replied to say that it had engaged with Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust “to seek a direct response to the concerns” and that it “also requested further information regarding the Organisation’s charitable status.” However, the regulator went on to say that it “recently received a response from the Organisation, in which the Organisation has provided various assurances, including to confirm that the social media post has been removed. The Organisation is also currently in the process of seeking charitable registration.”
The Commission concluded that, “Having considered the information and assurances provided by the Organisation, I can confirm that the Commission’s assessment of this matter will now be closed,” merely highlighting to the Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust its responsibilities under charitable law and guidance, should it become a charity.
Campaign Against Antisemitism is considering further legal options.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “While most of the country was enjoying the season of goodwill, the Cricklewood Muslim Youth Trust was using its Twitter account to implore the Muslim community to stay away from Jews and Christians and regard them as an enemy. It is extraordinary that the Charity Commission should consider such an organisation to be fit to apply for charitable status even after being alerted to this post. We are considering further legal options.”
