Pointing to a high level of generosity of British Muslims, a new report has found that Islamic charitable groups in the UK donated £20.2 billion ($24.4 billion) to local and international causes last year.
The report, by the National Council for Voluntary Organizations, an umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England, said that more than 165,000 groups or individuals contributed to the total donated amount in 2022, Kuwait News Agency reported.
A separate study by the Muslim Charities Forum found 600 organizations met the requirements and regulations set by the UK government for charitable work, up from around 25 at the turn of the century.
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The initial Muslim-oriented charitable organizations were established in the early 1980s and mostly contributed to humanitarian causes in Africa and Eastern Europe, the study said.
MCF’s CEO Fadi Itani said his group’s study had shown that 150 Islamic charities geared toward international causes contributed £500 million (around $625 million) annually.
Forty-seven organizations have the capacity to gather £1 million to £20 million annually, said Itani. Approximately 30 more raised about £500,000 ($620,000) a year each, while 450 others contributed more than £150 million a year collectively.
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Charitable Muslims
Charity is a central pillar in the Islamic faith and deeply entrenched into the Muslim way of life.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 274:
“Those who spend of their goods (in charity) by night and by day in secret and in public shall have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.”
Earlier this year, the London-based think tank, the Ayaan Institute, proved that British Muslims were among the most generous religious groups, revealing that they give at least £1bn a year to charity.
The huge number, projected to reach £4bn by 2050, was revealed in the report titled, “Aiding the Ummah: Analyzing the Muslim Humanitarian Charity Sector in the UK.”
Another report in 2021 by Walnut Social Research 2021 poll showed British Muslims were the most charitable religious group in the country.
Walnut found that Muslim individuals donated around £370 annually compared to £165 for donors from other faiths.