Report by Marwan Baltrash
LONDON, May 31 (KUNA) -- UK-based Islamic charitable organizations are contributing immensely to local and international causes, earning the respect and trust of Britons.
According to a report by National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO) -- an umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England -- authorities registered activities of over 165,000 charitable organizations in 2022 with such entities contributing 20.2 billion Pound Sterling (USD 24.4 billion) to charitable efforts.
The Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) -- an umbrella organization for Muslim-led charities -- has conducted a years-long study revealing that 600 Islamic charities had met the requirements and regulations set by the UK government in terms of charitable work.
The study revealed that the initial Muslim-oriented charitable organizations were established in the early 1980s and they mostly contributed to humanitarian causes in Africa and Eastern Europe in the mid-1980s and 1990s.
By 2000, the MCF said, there were 25 Islamic charitable organizations and with the advent of more crises in recent years, more organizations were popped-up throughout the UK.
MCFآ’s CEO Fadi Itani said that their study had shown that 150 Islamic charities geared towards international causes, had contributed some 500 million Sterling Pounds (around USD 625) annually.
He also noted that 47 organizations have the capacity to gather one to 20 million Sterling Pounds (an estimated USD 1.24 million to USD 24 million) annually, adding that around 29 organizations have an annual income of about 500,000 Sterling Pounds (about USD 620,000).
Concerning organizations focusing on charity work within the UK, Itani pointed out that around 450 organizations were involved in the process, contributing annually over 150 million Sterling Pounds (around USD 187 million to assist all sorts of charitable activities.
On the impact played by the Muslim community in charity, a 2021 poll -- conducted by the London-based public opinion research company ICM (now the Walnut Social Research) for the Times newspaper -- revealed that Muslims in the UK were the most charitable religious group in the country.
According to the poll, a Muslim individual would donate a minimum of 370 Sterling Pounds (around USD 475) annually compared to 165 Sterling Pounds (around USD 205) for followers of other faiths.
Muslim charity organizations also ranked high in the list of charities including one conducted in 2012 by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which put the Islamic Relief Worldwide organizations at position 43 in its list of 1,000 organizations with annual spending of over 60 million Sterling Pounds (around USD 75 million).
The Islamic Aid organization also placed 75 on the list with a spending of 21.3 Sterling Pounds (around USD 26.5 million). (end) mrn.gta