Religious charities facilitating misogynistic beliefs are operating without meaningful consequences, campaigners have cautioned, following the Charity Commission’s decision to issue only “advice and guidance” to a north London mosque.
The National Secular Society (NSS) raised the alarm after Islamic preacher Ahmed Shah faced no serious reprimand for declaring that wives must comply with their husbands’ every command.
The NSS described the regulator’s response as little more than a “slap on the wrist” and warned that such lenient treatment allows problematic organisations to “act with impunity”.
The case has reignited debate about whether Britain’s charity watchdog possesses adequate tools to address extremist rhetoric within religious institutions enjoying charitable status and associated tax benefits.
Mr Shah delivered his sermon at Hatch End Islamic Centre, near Harrow, during the autumn, asserting that contemporary Islamic scholars advocating for gender equality were fundamentally mistaken.
“Anything that the man commands his wife, she has to do, unless it goes against sharia law and it doesn’t harm her,” he stated during the address.
He insisted that domestic duties were “mandatory” for women, declaring: “Women have to do the housework, just like [it is] his responsibility to earn a living. It is her responsibility to look after the children and the home.”
The preacher dismissed what he termed a “new wave of mullahs” suggesting women bore no such obligations, characterising husbands as holding a “position of leadership” within marriage.
Ahmed Shah, speaking at the Hatch End Islamic Centre (pictured), said: ‘Anything that the man commands his wife, she has to do, unless it goes against sharia law and it doesn’t harm her’
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The mosque subsequently removed the sermon from YouTube following the NSS complaint.
The Charity Commission’s “advice and guidance” represents its lowest level of intervention, involving discussions with trustees about regulatory requirements without imposing any restrictions or impediments on the organisation’s operations.
The regulator stated it had considered the full sermon in context before issuing formal guidance on strengthening governance and risk management, including “guidance on protecting the charity from extremism and safeguarding its beneficiaries”.
Hatch End Islamic Centre is among nearly a dozen religious organisations receiving this minimal sanction for alleged misogyny or homophobia over the past two years, according to the NSS.
These cases include a mosque where a volunteer lecturer reportedly claimed wife-beating was acceptable if women refused sex, and a Baptist church where a preacher declared that homosexuality and evolution “will destroy us”.
The Government announced last week that its new social cohesion strategy would grant the Charity Commission enhanced powers to confront “extremist abuse” within the sector.
These provisions will enable the regulator to suspend trustees and close down charities entirely.
An NSS report published last year highlighted how certain religious charities receive public grants, gift aid, and tax relief while appearing to condone various forms of misogyny.
Alejandro Sanchez, from the NSS, said: “Short of this, the government’s measures to tackle extremism in charities, as proposed in the social cohesion strategy, must include misogyny and other forms of hateful extremism.”
The organisation is campaigning for the removal of “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose, arguing this would help eliminate misogyny from the sector.