Oldham Central Masjid and Islamic Centre
Case study from Mr Abdul Karim, Secretary of the Oldham Central Masjid and Islamic Centre. This charity was registered by the Commission in December 2009.
The charity’s aims are to provide religious facilities for followers of the Islamic faith, and to offer education and facilities to the whole community. The charity is currently constructing a purpose-built mosque in Oldham, which will include prayer halls for both men and women and classrooms as well as a mortuary.
Abdul Karim, Secretary of the Mosque, says:
"We applied online for charity registration and found the whole process relatively straightforward.
I phoned the Charity Commission’s Contact Centre to ask for some clarification of the details we needed to include for the trustees, and they were very helpful. The case officer kept us informed of the progress of our application.”
The whole process took about a month altogether. Since then, Oldham Central Masjid have been happy to spread the word about charity registration – they hosted a workshop in February 2010 to encourage other mosques in the area to find out more about registration and good governance.
Abdul Karim adds: “One of the main benefits of registration as a charity is that we have proper governance and the right procedures in place. This increases people’s trust in us as an organisation.”
Dudley Mosque and Muslim Community Centre
Case study from Mr Amjid Raza, Dudley Mosque and Muslim Community Centre. This charity was registered by the Commission in January 2009.
The charity's purpose is the advancement of the religion of Islam and the provision of other charitable services for the local Muslim Community. The mosque serves more than 2,000 Muslims around Dudley in their religious practice. Amongst its other activities the charity provides religious education and language classes, activities to spread awareness and understanding of Islam, and to promote community cohesion. The Centre also provides specialist services for the specific sections of the community such as women, older and young people and represents the community on various faith, community and volunteer groups.
On its experience of the registration process the charity says:
"The process of application was straightforward and smooth. There were no delays in processing our application."
Regarding the advantages of registered status:
"It provides confidence and trust to the members of the organisation, it provides a good image and the general public feel confidence that the organisation is regulated by the Charity Commission. It enables us to apply for the funding and other support to successfully run our organisation.”