Global media is reporting that the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), a UK umbrella group dominated by the UK Muslim Brotherhood, has elected Farooq Murad as the new Secretary-General of the organization. According to an AP report:
LONDON, June 21 (APP)-The UK’s largest Muslim organisation-The Muslim Council of Britain-has elected a new leadership comprising Secretary-General Farooq Murad, Deputy Secretary-General Dr.Shuja Shafi and Treasurer Haroon Rashid Khan. The new officials were elected at the 13th Annual General Meeting held here on Sunday evening and pledged to make the organisation more vibrant, promote the participation of women and the wider range of Britain’s Muslim communities. The opening session of the AGM, at which the outgoing Secretary-General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari presented his valedictory report, was chaired by Prof. Waqar Ahmad, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Middlesex University. The session also provided a forum for delegates and community leaders to share their aspirations for the MCB with efforts to increase the membership base. The MCB’s Election Commissioner, Judge Khurshid Drabu , supervised the national and zonal elections to the MCB’s Central Working Committee and also the election of the new office bearers. Over 200 delegates participated in the process, including representatives from Wales and Scotland. The new secretary-general Farooq Murad , a training consultant by profession, pledged to tirelessly champion great challenges facing the community. “The MCB is an evolving organisation and our voice will always be based on justice, equality and fairness,” he said. He paid tributes to the outgoing Secretary-General and noted that Dr.Bari had been “a truly remarkable ambassador for our community and our country. He served the MCB during turbulent times and consolidated the MCB as an organisation with renewed vigour and a sense of purpose.”
In addition to his role at the MCB, Mr. Murad is a current trustee and former chairman of Muslim Aid, a UK charity originally founded by Yusuf Islam (fka Cat Stevens) and identified in a NEFA Foundation report as a member of the Union of Good, described in the NEFA report as follows:
The Union of Good is a coalition of Islamic charities that provides financial support to both the Hamas “social” infrastructure, as well as its terrorist activities. It is headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, and most of the trustees and member organizations are associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood. The Union of Good was banned by Israel in 2002 and was recently designated a terrorist entity by the United States, although neither Youssef Qaradawi nor any of the Trustees were similarly designated. Despite the fact that action has been taken against some of its member organizations in Europe, many of its other European member organizations continue to operate. Further, the Union of Good itself does not appear to be under investigation in Europe.
According to another NEFA report on the UK Union of Good members, a number of the organizations to which Muslim Aid made allocations have been identified by Israel and/or the U.S. as Hamas institutions:
- Al-Razi Hospital
- Muslim Youth Society Hebron
- Al-Salah
- The Islamic Charitable Society Hebron
The NEFA report also cites an Israeli government document that identifies Muslim Aid as an institution that funds Hamas. In September 2008, Muslim Aid was one of the five U.K. UG charities banned by Israel in connection with their ties to Hamas.
The NEFA report goes on to detail links between Muslim Aid and the Federation of Islamic Organizations In Europe (FIOE), the umbrella group representing the European Muslim Brotherhood:
Three trustees of Muslim Aid are associated with the FIOE: Khadem Al-Rawi, Muslim Aid Vice Chairman, Director of the European Institute for Human Sciences (EIHS) and brother of Ahmed Al-Rawi; Ahmed von Denffer, a prominent member of the Islamic Center in Munich; and Suhaib Hasan probably a board member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research.
Earlier posts have discussed the role of the Union of Good and FIOE in the recent Gaza flotilla crisis.