There was chaos and confusion at Al-Hira Mosque in Luton last Friday as the fitness of an imam to lead jumu’ah prayers was questioned.
The Friday prayer was delayed as Professor Masood Akhter Hazarvi was addressing the congregation during the khutbah.
5Pillars has heard a recording of the entire incident and understands that the dispute relates to Professor Hazvari’s recent five year ban by the Charity Commission from holding a position of a trustee of any charity in the UK.
According to eyewitnesses, one man stood up and shouted: “This man and his son (Dawood Masood who was also banned by the Charity Commission for 10 years) have been banned by a government organisation from being a trustee of any charity. Why is he still here, leading the prayers? If a person belonging to any other organisation was banned like this, they would have been removed and sacked from their position.”
Professori Hazarvi repeatedly asked the man to be quiet and sit down but he refused to comply. Around six other members of the congregation then stood up and started shouting as well, causing confusion and panic among the congregation.
Some of the people shouting were supporting the man asking the questions while some were shouting and asking him to be quiet and sit down, according to eyewitnesses.
Other eyewitnesses dispute this version and say no one was supporting the questioner.
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The man publicly questioning Professor Hazarvi continued: “No, no, let me finish. I want to clarify something for everyone: Quba Trust charity is nothing to do with this masjid or with Sultan Bahoo Trust, yet this man has given two interviews to social media inside this masjid to refute the allegations against him. This masjid is not the office of the Quba charity, so why has he done this?”
Professor Hazari Sahib was asking everyone to give him a few minutes to answer the “important questions” raised when a few more people stood up and started to complain about the delay in the prayers as many people needed to return to work after the jumu’ah.
Hazarvi Sahib wrapped up the incident by stating that there was absolutely no allegation of corruption or misuse of funds raised for the Quba charity and that the ban was purely for some mistakes in procedural matters and delay in providing papers requested by the Charity Commission investigators.
Imam Hazarvi Sahib invited everyone to read the full report for themselves on the website of the Charity Commission before believing the allegations on social media.
Charity Commission findings
On December 19, the Charity Commission announced that they had disqualified three former trustees of an international aid charity based in Bedfordshire as part of a two-year investigation by the regulator.
Their statutory inquiry into Quba Trust – a charity set up to alleviate poverty, provide disaster relief and promote the Islamic faith – found that the charity was poorly managed and its now former trustees had a serious disregard for, or lack of understanding of, the importance of proper financial management and controls.
The charity’s trustees had also failed to act on regulatory advice and guidance issued by the Commission to make improvements in how the charity was run and ensure it met legal obligations.
During its investigation, the Commission found the trustees were unable to account for more than £250,000 that was transferred overseas with a further £500,000 lacking a satisfactory financial audit trail.
However, the trustees maintain that this money was accounted for as receipts were later found and no money went missing.
The Charity Commission also found that while the charity was largely inactive and under investigation by the Commission it spent more than £36,000 on a consultant. The inquiry examined the rationale for this appointment and, using the Commission’s legal powers, sought evidence and responses from the trustees. However, they failed to provide any justification for the decision, define the consultant’s role, or demonstrate any tangible outcomes from their work.
The Commission determined that the misconduct and/or mismanagement committed by some of the now former trustees made them unfit to be a trustee or hold senior management positions in any charity.
As a result, the Commission disqualified three trustees on July 1, 2024 (Dawood Masood, Affaf Amir and Masood Akthar Hazarvi) for periods ranging between five and ten years.
NOTE: This article has been updated to further reflect the views of more eyewitnesses to the incident and the views of the former charity trustees.
