UK
charities cease funding Cage, group linked to 'Jihadi John'
Send a link to a friend
[March 07, 2015] By
Estelle Shirbon
LONDON (Reuters) - Two high-profile British
charities have stopped funding Cage, a Muslim campaign group that has
drawn criticism over statements about the Islamic State militant known
as "Jihadi John", the regulator of British charities has announced.
|
Cage was in contact several years ago with Kuwaiti-born Londoner
Mohammed Emwazi, at a time when he was on the radar of Britain's
intelligence services over signs of radicalization.
Since Emwazi was identified on Feb. 26 as the man in a black
balaclava who appears in Islamic State beheading videos, Cage
members have said he was once a "beautiful young man" and have
blamed the intelligence services for radicalizing him.
"Last week, public statements by Cage officials heightened concerns
about the use of charitable funds to support their activities," the
Charity Commission said in a statement late on Friday.
"In our view, those statements increased the threat to public trust
and confidence in charity," it said, adding that it had taken
"robust action" by requiring two well-known charities that had
funded Cage to confirm they would no longer do so.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Mar/07/images/ads/current/ccaonline_sda050208.png)
The two organizations are the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, a
Quaker foundation, and the Roddick Foundation, set up by the late
founder of the cosmetics retailer Body Shop. They had come under
intense public scrutiny since Emwazi was named and Cage went public
with their views about him.
The commission said Joseph Rowntree had made grant awards to Cage of
305,000 pounds ($459,000) between 2007 and 2014, of which 271,250
pounds was paid, while the Roddick Foundation had made grant
payments of 120,000 pounds between 2009 and 2012.
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust confirmed it had stopped
funding Cage and would not do so in future, citing "regulatory
pressure" and saying it wanted to protect the interests of other
recipients of its funding and other work by the trust.
The Roddick Foundation could not be immediately reached for comment.
RADICALIZED
Set up by a group of London Muslims to support British suspects
being held by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, Cage says its
aims are "to empower communities affected by the War on Terror and
to highlight abuses of due process".
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Mar/07/images/ads/current/st_claras_lda_082114.png)
In a statement responding to the Charity Commission's announcement,
Cage thanked the Joseph Rowntree trust and the Roddick Foundation
for their past support.
Cage said the Charity Commission was pursuing a "neo-conservative"
agenda. "This is just another manifestation of their objective of
pursuing a Cold War on British Islam," it said.
A wide range of public figures including Home Secretary Theresa May
and London Mayor Boris Johnson have criticized Cage for suggesting
that Emwazi's dealings with the intelligence services had
radicalized him.
"The security services are trying to keep us safe," Johnson told
Cage research director Asim Qureshi during a radio debate.
"They cannot conceivably be blamed for their actions in trying to
prevent people from committing absolutely sick atrocities against
the British public and indeed against innocent people in Syria and
Iraq.
"If you are a human rights group funded by charity then you should
be sticking up for the human rights of those who have been beheaded
in Syria and in northern Iraq. That should be the focus of your
concern."
(Editing by Pravin Char)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Mar/07/images/ads/current/business_directory_lda.png) |