Given that much of the controversy surrounding the government’s falling out with the MCB has focused on the mistaken presumption that the MCB receives government funding (it has not for several years), we thought we’d inject some accuracy and argument into the debate.

Daud Abdullah of the MCB, in his Newsnight interview, clarified what public funding the MCB has actually received – none – except project funding. This corresponds to projects the MCB has undertaken. For example, the Footsteps project, which used Muslim role models to raise aspirations among Muslim pupils, and the DTI joint project on ‘Religion and Discrimination in the Workplace’. Even this funding was stopped a few years ago because the government was unhappy that the MCB exhibited too much independence.

Now, there is certainly a debate to be had about what prescriptive action the government can engage in with religious and other organisations but the truth of the matter is that the state is dependent on non state actors to assist in the delivery of services. In this, Muslim organisations can be treated no differently to, for example, Catholic adoption agencies, where service delivery is concerned, and other faith organisations.

Hazel Blears’ letter to the MCB is all the more outrageous precisely because it sets a precedent for the government’s interactions with other religious organisations in public service delivery.

More interesting is the comparison to be made in government interaction with those Muslim organisations who have received substantial public funding.

In response to questions in the House posed to the Communities Minister, Sadiq Khan, Hansard reveals funding allocations as follows:

Organisational Capacity —building the capacity of organisations in the Muslim community to actively resist the influence of violent extremists.

And in further response to a question posed by Paul Goodman on funding received by the Radical Middle Way, Khan explains:

‘Communities and Local Government are funding the Radical Middle Way at £350,000.00 for their domestic programme of work. This represents the total cost of their programme this year.'

Perhaps those that persist in their false allegations that the MCB receives ‘a lot of government money’, as Charles Moore ignorantly claimed on BBC’s Question Time, might now be silenced.

And perhaps they might now direct their attention and scrutiny to those Muslim organisations, listed above, which actually are in receipt of government funds?

And here’s a useful point to mull over. The British Muslim Forum - whose funds allocation totals £194,200 - supported the government’s planned extension of the detention period without charge to 42 days last year despite widespread opposition amongst British Muslims.

As for the Quilliam Foundation which received around £1 million according to this investigation in The Times, its legitimacy as an organization has always been non-existent. The organization is widely recognised to be nothing more than a government funded social engineering project designed to depoliticize Muslims.

Not only does money talk, it would seem that it many cases it only speaks the language of the government.

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SYB   |2009-03-27 13:38:44 Why on earth do the Sufi Muslim Council receive government funding? If the SMC are so committed to their cause, and believe it to be the orientation of a significant group of British Muslims, why not get those that back it to fund its work? I'd like to see some of these groups that like to think they know what the rest of us are thinking put THEIR money where their mouth is. Or do they fear that asking their memberships to cough up might reveal just how tenuous their popular support is?

said korir  - ref.seed funding   |2009-11-28 03:38:19 we are non profit organization registered in 2009,seeking for seed funding for the org, to meet its project.

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