The UK’s largest Muslim charity has been exonerated of institutional antisemitism in an independent report after its reputation was badly damaged and government funding suspended over the social media posts of two trustees and a senior member of staff.

Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW), a global organization with an annual income of about £130m, was a “highly effective charity” performing “crucial humanitarian work around the world”, said Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative attorney general who led the independent review. “We found absolutely no evidence that the reputational issues that have arisen over the conduct of a few individuals has had any link to the way IRW carries out this charitable work,” he said. Grieve said there was no evidence of antisemitism in the organization. “On the contrary, the charity has made a lot of effort to ensure there isn’t antisemitism, and I saw no evidence of it among staff whatsoever,” he said.

The charity had been “horrified” when it discovered that Tayeb Abdoun, network and resource development director, had been tweeting antisemitic material under an alias, and had acted swiftly to deal with the individual, Grieve said. Abdoun, who had worked for the charity for more than 25 years, was forced to resign. A few months earlier it was revealed that two trustees had posted antisemitic comments on social media before they were appointed. A new board of trustees was appointed soon afterwards.

As a result of the disclosures, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office suspended its funding of the charity, along with the German and US governments. IRW, which was the only Muslim charity on the disasters emergency committee, withdrew from the body while the Charity Commission investigated.

Source: The Guardian