SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- British Muslim leaders and activists have denounced the government for keeping “excessive” watch on UK Muslims and charity groups.
A report by the think tank Claystone says of the 76 charities currently being investigated by the UK’s Charity Commission, 20 are known to be Muslim-led organizations.
Claystone, along with other Muslim advocacy organizations, have criticized what they see as the Charity Commission’s “targeting” of Islamic organizations, which they claim has intensified since William Shawcross took the helm.
Shawcross, who once told the conservative Henry Jackson Society think tank that “Europe and Islam” were among the world’s most “terrifying” problems, has previously highlighted the threat of extremists operating through Islamic charities.
Now activist and Islamic scholar Shabbir Hassanally believes such a trend will only backfire in the long run.
Hassanally has told Press TV’s UK Desk that “excessive surveillance is counterproductive as people have a right to privacy,” adding that the governments are responsible for such actions.
“Any organization, any government that is incessantly, insidiously spying and surveilling either the entire population or most of its population is ultimately doomed to fail,” he added.
The activist added that “the Western governments are nervous about Muslims mobilizing, coming together for any cause.”
He also noted that these governments “engendered and promote this idea of Islamophobia” to achieve their goals.
Meanwhile, CAGE, an Islamic advocacy organization has said that abstract uses of the term “extremism” had resulted in some charities being under “perpetual investigation,” which provokes suspicion towards Muslim activist groups.
Source:PressTV
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