Lisa Nandy has come under fire after she was accused of prioritising Islam and “excluding other faith groups” from the new committee for social cohesion.
The Culture Secretary appointed the boss of a Muslim charity as an adviser to a new civil society project.
Chief executive of the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) Fadi Itani has been appointed as a member of the steering committee of her Civil Society Covenant.
The group aims to promote “social cohesion” by bringing together “volunteers, charities, faith organisations” and others.
Nandy had described such organisations as “the eyes, ears and voice of the people”.
However, Itani is the only member of a faith-specific group to be represented on its advisory group, while the only other religious organisation is Faith Action, which represents all faiths.
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Lisa Nandy speaking at the Labour Conference
A spokesman for Insight UK, the Hindu and Indian advocacy group, said the Government needed to clarify its position on the matter.
They told The Telegraph: “The Government’s decision to invite only a Muslim charity to participate in its civic society covenant while excluding other faith groups is discriminatory and shows preferential treatment for one faith group.
“While the inclusion of Muslim voices in civic dialogue is valuable, the exclusion of other faith groups such as Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and other faith-based organisations suggests an inconsistent approach to interfaith representation.
“To ensure legitimacy and effectiveness, the Government should clarify its selection criteria and broaden participation to include all major faith communities in this civic initiative.”
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Dr Hany El-Banna
The MCF was founded in 2008 by Dr Hany El-Banna, who was awarded an OBE in 2004.
In 2020, he came under fire after he posted a video on X of a lecture he gave in which he described the Yazidi people, who are indigenous to Kurdistan, as “devil worshippers”.
He then apologised, saying he had used a colloquial Arabic term but that it was “clearly inappropriate”.
Dr Banna, who is the co-founder of Islamic Relief, has since met representatives of the British Yazidi community to apologise directly.
In 2015, the MCF was accused of alleged links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and was stripped of £138,000 of government funding.
The group has categorically denied ever having supported any charities or groups that have links to terrorist or proscribed organisations.
A legal representative from the MCF said: “Our clients have no reason to believe or suspect that any of their member charities support (whether financially or by any other means) any terrorist or other proscribed organisations.
“For the sake of completeness, nor do our clients have any reason to believe that any of those charities support or have links to the Muslim Brotherhood (which is not proscribed in the United Kingdom).”
Addressing Dr El-Banna’s video, the MCF’s legal representative said: “Dr El-Banna has long since issued an apology for using a colloquial Arabic term which, although commonly used in the region, was clearly inappropriate.
“He has met with representatives of the UK Yazidi community to apologise directly and clarify any misunderstandings.”
A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport told The Telegraph: “Faith groups are explicitly recognised and valued partners under our Civil Society Covenant and on the Advisory Council, acknowledging faith organisations as essential to delivering our Plan for Change missions and tackling Britain’s biggest challenges.
“The Covenant was developed through extensive engagement with over 1,200 organisations across civil society’s full diversity, including multiple faith and interfaith groups whose contributions helped shape the final document.
“We look forward to strengthening our partnership with faith organisations as we implement the Covenant’s commitments together.”