An Open Letter To The Muslim Community
Every community must have complete faith and trust in its leaders. We have been aware for over a year that a large portion of the local Muslim community are unhappy with the leadership of the Chelmsford Muslim Society by Ayman Syed, the current Chairman and former General Secretary.
We have today received a message that is being circulated by the Muslim community, which makes a number of serious allegations, and calls for Mr Syed’s resignation. Here is a summary of the allegations:
Bullying leading to the resignation of a number of trustees and committee members.
Ignoring community concerns, and failing to respond to the needs of the Muslim community.
Damaging the good name of the Muslim community, and tarnishing the reputation of the registered charity, the Chelmsford Muslim Society.
Failed to act in an open and transparent manner, including withholding essential and pertinent information, in particular financial information. No financial reports were produced and submitted at the last charity AGM.
Acted in a manner not consistent with the CMS constitution, to advance his own personal agenda, creating a clear conflict of interests.
Neglected the provision of Islamic education by closing the Central Mosque madrassa established by Imam Saghir. Many parents are unable to afford the £600 fee for the Makarim Academy, leaving their children without Islamic educational opportunities in Chelmsford.
The duties and responsibilities of the trustees are explained clearly in this video:
The Muslim Community Needs To Clean House
Any members of the Muslim community reading this should be aware that there will be a clause in the Governing Document (constitution) that permits them to call an Extraordinary General Meeting of the charity, where these allegations, and a course of action could be discussed. It will look something like this:
The charity trustees must, within 21 days, call a general meeting of the members of the charity if:
they receive a request to do so from at least 10% of the members of the charity, in writing to the principal address.
the request states the general nature of the business to be dealt with at the meeting, and is authenticated by the member(s) making the request.
A copy of the constitution must be made available to any member of the organisation that requests to see it.
Given the turnover of trustees, there is clearly a serious governance issue.
The left hand column is the list of 2022 trustees, the right hand column is the current listing for 2023.
COMPLAIN TO THE CHARITY COMMISSION
Alternatively, members of the Muslim community could report the issues anonymously to the Charity Commission, using the button below.
The Charity Commission will require evidence, so include any witness statements or copies of emails that are relevant. But don’t let this put you off.