Islamic Relief plans governance reforms to regain trust

Islamic Relief Worldwide, the United Kingdom’s largest Muslim charity, is facing an uphill battle to reassure donors and partners that racist social media posts unearthed last year have not compromised the organization’s ability to operate as an impartial humanitarian actor.

After revelations that two trustees and one senior director had previously posted anti-Semitic messages on social media — resulting in the immediate resignations of all three — IRW appointed an independent commission to review its vetting policies and governance structure to prevent similar incidents in the future. The independent commission, led by former U.K. Attorney General Dominic Grieve, published its findings Friday.

“Islamic Relief holds a very important position as the leading, global Muslim faith-based humanitarian charity and there is no question in my mind at the conclusion of this Commission that that status is threatened by failings in its governance,” Grieve wrote in his report.

Importantly, while the inquiry found significant concerns with the composition of the charity’s board of directors and its organizational structure — which Islamic Relief has signaled it plans to address — Grieve did not find any evidence that the offensive views articulated by the former senior director and two former trustees in any way compromised the impartiality or integrity of the organization’s humanitarian programs.

“The evidence available suggests that Islamic Relief Worldwide is a very well-managed charity by its staff,” Grieve told Devex in an interview.

“There is no evidence that it does anything other than what it says on the ticket, which is to deliver humanitarian aid,” he added.

The damage caused by the former trustees’ and employee’s social media posts has been compounded by the fact that Islamic Relief has, for years, been subject to conspiracies and allegations that it operates with a political agenda or even supports terrorism.

“If having defended yourself, you then find that part of your defense is being undermined by the fact that two of your trustees are seen to be giving some credence to it by their own actions, then this is a problem that's got to be resolved,” Grieve said.

Israel has designated Islamic Relief a terrorist organization, a move that bars the charity from operating in the West Bank — and that Islamic Relief has sought to challenge in Israeli courts.

Earlier this month, during the last days of former President Donald Trump’s administration, the U.S. Department of State also reportedly cut ties with Islamic Relief Worldwide, suspending U.S. government funds and initiating a review of the organization, according to the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet that frequently highlights the views of IRW’s critics.

“We are disappointed that in the final hours of the last US administration, the State Department took the decision to attack Islamic Relief without engaging with us,” an Islamic Relief spokesperson wrote to Devex.

“We have a long-standing partnership with USAID [the U.S. Agency for International Development] and we look forward to that continuing. We have requested a meeting with the State Department and the new administration to clarify the situation,” they added.

The U.K. Charity Commission, a government regulatory body, launched its own compliance review in response to the social media posts. It found that the former trustees and employee violated IRW’s code of conduct — which all three parties also acknowledged — noted that the organization “took swift action,” and closed the case.

The problem that IRW faces — and that its governance reforms must address — is that while its operations have repeatedly been shown to meet regulatory standards, any association with people who share controversial or offensive political views threatens to undermine the trust of donors, partners, and the public in IRW being impartial humanitarian actor, Grieve said.

“Whilst IRW might be able to continue as a charity because it still fulfills its charitable purposes, its ability to be a trusted partner will, I think, be most seriously undermined if it is not seen to have successfully addressed this issue,” he said.

Grieve stressed that it is not illegal for people to hold controversial political views, and in fact plenty of charities take political positions on controversial topics.

“As long as that is within the law of the land, you're not inciting violence or terrorism, or you're not adhering to a proscribed organization, under the laws of the United Kingdom that is perfectly permissible position to have,” Grieve said.

The issue for IRW is that making controversial or offensive public pronouncements is incompatible with the organization’s mission as an international, impartial humanitarian provider.

“They've got to make a choice,” Grieve said.

“This is a humanitarian aid charity which has laid down very clear rules for itself about its impartiality,” he said.

One of Grieve’s recommendations was for IRW to adopt a mission statement, “to absolutely be able to say: ‘This is our purpose. Everything else must be subordinate to that purpose.’”

Grieve found that Islamic Relief’s board has typically been drawn from a “self-contained” group of fundraisers who are largely disconnected from the organization’s staff and who have not necessarily been equipped to focus on issues related to reputational risk, donor relations, and governance. That has remained the case even as the charity has grown into a global network of affiliate organizations with a wide diversity of staff and with an annual income of roughly $180 million.

IRW’s entire board of directors already stepped down — not because of the social media scandal, as reports suggested at the time, but as part of a much broader governance reform effort at the organization.

Grieve’s recommendations include filling out the board of directors with people who bring specific skills — such as greater familiarity with the U.K. charity sector — as well as better demographic and international representation, “including the possibility of a non-Muslim trustee or trustees supportive of IRW’s ethos,” the commission’s report reads.

Devex, with support from our partner GHR Foundation, is exploring the intersection between faith and development. Visit the Focus on: Faith and Development page for more. Disclaimer: The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of GHR Foundation.