The Charity Commission has found a Brighton mosque to be “poorly managed” and disqualified a trustee during an inquiry linked to another former trustee’s conviction for encouraging terrorism.
The regulator started to investigate the affairs of the Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre, locally known as the Dyke Road Mosque, in August 2022.
The investigation started in response to concerns about the failure to resolve a dispute between those claiming to be responsible for the mosque which was found to have damaged the charity’s management.
Part of the row revolved around former trustee Abubaker Deghayes. He was convicted of encouraging violent jihad in a speech at the mosque to about 50 people including children on Sunday 1 November 2020.
At least one trustee was among those present at the speech after evening prayers, the Charity Commission said.
But the trustee did not intervene nor attempt to minimise the effect of the content of Deghayes’s actions.
Deghayes, of Saldean, was jailed for four years at the Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, in London, in April 2022.
In inquiry findings published today (Wednesday 22 January), it concluded the charity was “poorly managed” and there was “misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of it”.
The regulator said: “The Commission’s intervention and the appointment of the interim manager were necessary to restore proper governance and administration to the charity.
“A new board of trustees has been appointed to run the charity which the interim manager identified after a full and thorough recruitment exercise.”
The interim manager took control of the charity’s finances, including cash donations of more than £17,000.
The inquiry also disqualified former trustee Karim Aboutayab on Wednesday 10 July last year, for four years and six months. It found that he had a “greater culpability” for the mismanagement found in the charity’s affairs.
This included using an “inflammatory” tone towards others, which contributed to the dispute’s escalation, and failing to file the charity’s annual accounts on time.
The Charity Commission first assessed concerns at the charity after Deghayes was charged with encouraging terrorism in July 2021.
It later issued an official warning after deciding that those who were trustees at the time, in May 2022, had known or should have known about the risk posed by Deghayes.
The Charity Commission’s head of inspections Joshua Farbridge said: “Abusing a charity to encourage terrorism is a grave breach of public trust and we expect all trustees to take steps to ensure their charities cannot become safe havens for terrorist or extremist views.
“While the earlier criminal conviction was outside the scope of our inquiry, what occurred at the Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre demonstrates how serious disputes within a charity can not only severely impact its running and reputation, but leave a charity unprotected from the risk of exploitation by those with malign intentions.”
The Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre has been contacted for comment.
What took the Charity Commission so long to do this? Disgracefully slow to act if this man was perceived as a genuine threat. It would have been quicker reporting it to Prevent.
I wonder how many comments there will be on this item? Not many I guess because we no longer have free speech. Good thing the law caught up with him eventually, hopefully he’s still behind bars. Not sure if the Mosque should still be open though.
We shouldn’t be closing any Mosques. Doing so would just drive any extremists further underground and make them harder to monitor. Most religions have extremists, go and talk to some Muslims and you might discover that they’re just as afraid of terrorism as anyone else. Closing a Mosque would be as much of a benefit to countering terrorism as knocking down St. Peter’s Church would be.
Do they preach hate/encourage terrorism at St.Peters then?
Statistically, more wars committed and blood spilt have been the name of Christianity than any other religion. It important to note that religion is used as a justification, rather than it being evil intrinsically.
Name the wars
We have free speech but we don’t allow hate speech.
There is a world of difference between criticising a person or a faith and hate and incitement speech
The free speech never means free from consequence.
I wonder if this was a licensed premises it would have been closed down?
Part of the tragedy is that these people bullied, intimidated, harassed and terrified those who used to run the mosque in order to take it over but now their horrible attitudes and behaviour cast a shadow on everyone, even the innocent. A family of violent religious fanatics, drug dealers and murderers took control. Surely the real story is how this happened? What went so badly wrong that this could happen?
Indeed. Even when news like this is reported, there inevitably some comments that racially stereotype all foreign people.
Until a couple of years ago, the mosque’s website listed several hadiths, which have now been removed, instructing how to chastise children violently, not that this was ever made public. It’s not just one evil family’s doing.
Vile family.
it’s them again..more to come and more welcomed by loonies everyday.
Comments like this fuel division and stereotype an entire group based on the actions of a few individuals. The actions of one person or even a small group should not define an entire community, especially in a city as diverse as Brighton. It’s crucial to remember that crimes are committed by individuals, not entire racial or religious groups. Prejudices based on race or religion only hinder progress and understanding. Instead of focusing on stereotypes, let’s look at ways to address the real issues – such as the actions of those who engage in illegal behaviour – while promoting a sense of unity and shared responsibility in our community. Dividing people based on their background only weakens the fabric of our society.