Religious charity under investigation

The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into religious charity Dar ul Uloom Islamia Rizwia (Bralawai) amid concerns around its administration and management.

The conduct of trustees and staff at the Birmingham charity on social media is a particular concern of the regulator.

The regulator first flagged up concerns in 2019, over the charity’s safeguarding policies and procedures.

At the time trustees were issued with regulatory advice and assured the Commission that an educational centre it runs in Birmingham would close and not reopen until improvements had been made.

But when the regulator visited the charity’s premises, in the Small Health area of Birmingham, in November it found that the centre had been reopened without improvements taking place.

Also, the Commission says it is concerned by social media activity of trustees and staff following the visit.

“As part of the compliance visit the Commission established that the educational centre had re-opened without adhering to the charity’s policies and procedures,” said the regulator.

“The re-opening had also taken place despite there being incomplete disclosure and barring service checks in place for those engaged in regulated activity.”

The Commission’s inquiry will look at the charity’s safeguarding, conduct of staff and trustees on social media, unmanaged conflicts of interest, governance and financial management.

It added: “In addition to opening the inquiry, the regulator has also exercised its legal powers to compel the trustees to take specified action aimed at improving the administration and management of the charity.”

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Charity Times video Q&A: In conversation with Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK
Charity Times editor, Lauren Weymouth, is joined by Dementia UK CEO, Hilda Hayo to discuss why the charity receives such high workplace satisfaction results, what a positive working culture looks like and the importance of lived experience among staff. The pair talk about challenges facing the charity, the impact felt by the pandemic and how it's striving to overcome obstacles and continue to be a highly impactful organisation for anybody affected by dementia.
Charity Times Awards 2023

Mitigating risk and reducing claims
The cost-of-living crisis is impacting charities in a number of ways, including the risks they take. Endsleigh Insurance’s* senior risk management consultant Scott Crichton joins Charity Times to discuss the ramifications of prioritising certain types of risk over others, the financial implications risk can have if not managed properly, and tips for charities to help manage those risks.

* Coming soon… Howden, the new name for Endsleigh.