The state-backed anti-Islamophobia charity Tell MAMA has been offered another year’s worth of funding weeks after the government announced that it had pulled the plug.
In a statement released on the Tell MAMA website, the group announced that they were formally notified by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that direct funding will be offered to Tell MAMA for 2025/2026.
The statement claimed the one-off funding was “reflecting the Government’s continued trust and confidence” in the charity’s work.
“We are pleased that the Government has shown continued trust and confidence in our work by approving further funding, and we look forward to continuing our important work serving Muslim communities in the UK.”
The announcement comes following supportive comments by Lord Wajid Khan of Burnley, who appears to have lobbied on behalf of the charity for further government funding.
Tell MAMA thanked Lord Khan for his support in the statement: “We wanted to extend our thanks to Lord Khan of Burnley, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the MHCLG, for his time and collaborative efforts in working with us to address this matter.”
On 8 March 2025, The Observer published an article on the future of Tell MAMA’s work, which had been supported for 11 years by the MHCLG.
Tell MAMA was notified that direct grant funding was coming to an end on 31 March 2025, sending shockwaves through the Tell MAMA leadership.
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Fiyaz Mughal, the controversial founder of Tell MAMA, condemned the funding cut, warning that vulnerable victims of anti-Muslim hate would lose a vital lifeline.
“There will be more individuals targeted — we know this given the current climate — so where will they turn?” Mughal remarked in an interview with The Guardian.
It is believed that without direct government support, Tell MAMA would lack the means to continue operating, with no alternative support framework disclosed.
The one-year reprieve has been welcomed by Tell MAMA, but questions remain over the organisation’s long-term future and whether the Government will eventually cut all funding for good.
Tell MAMA controversies
Tell MAMA has proved to be controversial amongst Muslims since its launch, especially in its early years under founder Fiyaz Mughal.
While some have been applauded its systematic monitoring of Islamophobia and acknowledge that this is a much-needed service for the community, others are uneasy over its government funding and some of its partners which have included pro-Israelis and a “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Muslim group.”
In March 2014, a prominent gay rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, joined the Tell MAMA charity as a patron in a move which raised eyebrows in the British Muslim community given that homosexuality is condemned as a sin in Islam.
In a 2014 statement, Tell MAMA said: “Peter Tatchell has campaigned for nearly 50 years on human rights issues and has been one of the key drivers against homophobia. He has also campaigned against tyranny in Zimbabwe and in Russia, where he was brutally assaulted calling for LGBT rights.
“Peter’s vision encompasses human rights for all communities. He has campaigned against extremist faith preachers who oppose equal rights for women, LGBT communities and people who do not share their perspective on faith.”
In the past, Peter Tatchell has been critical of “Islamic fundamentalism” and has described Shari’ah as a “clerical form of fascism” on the grounds that it opposes democracy and human rights, especially for women and gay people.
Just weeks later Tell MAMA appointed the former head of the pro-Israel Community Security Trust (CST) as its co-chair.
Richard Benson chaired the CST for 12 years. The group’s remit is to protect Britain’s Jewish community form external threats such as “bigotry, anti-semitism and terrorism.” But critics say that the CST is a Zionist group.
In July 2014, Tell Mama announced the results of its annual report on Islamophobia in the UK at an event organised by the infamous Quilliam Foundation.
The Quilliam Foundation was founded in 2007 by Maajid Nawaz and Ed Husain. Since its foundation the Quilliam Foundation has been widely criticised by Muslim organisations for putting the emphasis on extremism within the Muslim community.
In July 2015, Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell Mama, defended his group sharing a platform with Quilliam Foundation on the Left Foot Forward blog, stating: “We will speak at any platform, (apart from extremist groups and those who have used prejudiced terms against whole communities).”
