Regulator finds mosque was mismanaged

The mismanagement of a charity in charge of a mosque led to issues around safeguarding and “inappropriate” posts on social media, according to a regulator.

A Charity Commission report highlighted issues at Dar ul Uloom Islamia Rizwia (Bralawai), which operates Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif in Birmingham.

Its publication followed a three-year inquiry, during which time the charity made “significant steps” to address the problems, the regulator said.

The mosque said the process had been “exhausting” but accepted the report’s findings and said it would continue to make improvements.

The Charity Commission was first alerted in 2019 when a safeguarding incident was reported to have happened at the mosque’s education centre.

The centre was closed and an investigation found the charity had no safeguarding policies in place at the time of the incident, which was described as a “serious breach of duty”.

The statutory inquiry was launched in November 2021, when the education centre was reopened without safeguarding measures being implemented, the report said.

Among the issues identified was the charity’s failure to complete a draft social media policy, which the report said contributed to “multiple inappropriate social media posts” by trustees and staff.

The posts have since been deleted and an apology was issued at the time, the report said.

It also raised concerns about the charity’s failure to log its accounts for the financial years ending in March 2019 and 2020, which the regulator said amounted to “misconduct and/or mismanagement”.

Following the appointment of an interim manager by the commission, the charity has since put safeguarding measures in place, implemented a “robust” social media policy and brought its accounts up to date, the report said.

Joshua Farbridge, the Charity Commission’s head of compliance visits and inspections, confirmed the inquiry was closed with the expectation the mosque’s trustees would continue to make the necessary changes.

“Our inquiry found a number of regulatory concerns and several instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement but the trustees have taken significant steps to improve how the charity operates”, he said.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Ghamkol Sharif Mosque said it was grateful the inquiry had concluded and thanked the commission for its support.

“It has been a thoughtful period, in which we can assertively state that the outcome has been beneficial for the charity,” it read.

It described the investigation as “exhausting for all concerned” and said a “significant amount” of concerns were raised, which prolonged the inquiry.

“We accept the findings of the Inquiry, and will continue to make improvements towards governance, administration and management in the coming period,” it added.

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