Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, has criticised the Charity Commission for its treatment of Muslim charities.
The Commission appears to be "targeting Muslim charities in a disproportionate way" Bubb said in a blog post published yesterday, entitled Islamic charities: support them don’t wreck them.
Bubb said he had spoken to Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid, the two largest Muslim charities, as well as the Muslim Charities Forum, the umbrella body for Muslim charities.
He said they had "real fears" about some of the recent actions of the Charity Commission, and that he planned to take the issue up with the Commission.
“Of course the Commission must be able to examine and deal with complaints; it’s their role to do so," he said. "And in the turbulent world we live in, we are aware of terrorist threats from many parts of the globe.
“But if that raises perceptions of a bias then that is in itself a problem. A perception is neither true or false - it's a perception, but damage can be done to charitable giving through bad perceptions.”
He said it was worrying that the regulator announced publicly that it has launched a statutory inquiry into Muslim Aid. It was launched after the charity told the Commission of two problems, he says.
“This has had a devastating effect on their potential for fundraising now,” Sir Stephen says, pointing out that it is the Holy month of Ramadan when Muslims support the poor and therefore a key time for fundraising.
“Before even the results of the inquiry are known, they are now under a cloud of suspicion. This also has ramifications for their day-to-day business in making charitable payments around the world. How ironic that against the background of the most terrible suffering of the civilian population in Syria, it has become so difficult for Muslim charities to provide humanitarian aid.”
Sir Stephen raised concerns that if communities were unfairly targeted and discriminated against, this can lead to alienation which drive people away from civic participation.
He adds: “As my colleagues pointed out, they have been working hard to develop a sense of civic duty and community cohesion in the Muslim community. It would be perverse if the actions of the Commission were seen to undermine that.”
A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: "We categorically reject any suggestion of bias in our investigative work. We are alert to how sensitive this issue is and are careful when we discuss it, but we cannot control how our comments are reported in the media.
"Our principal role is to prevent and tackle serious abuse and mismanagement, and it is therefore not possible for us to remain silent about the risks and problems charities face. Doing so would mean reneging on our responsibility as regulator."
