Group whose boss backed ‘toxic’ Cage gets £130k of taxpayer cash
A MUSLIM outreach group has received £130,000 of taxpayers’ money despite the controversial views of its chief executive officer.
The JC can reveal the Ramadan Tent Project – which was snubbed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer – was awarded the money through a government fund set up to support cultural organisations through the pandemic.
Arts Council England, which made the award, defended its decision, insisting that “extremely tight criteria” had been followed.
Ramadan Tent Project describes its mission as “bringing communities together to better understand each other”. However, its CEO, Omar Salha, has supported controversial Muslim advocacy group Cage, an organisation branded “toxic” by the Board of Deputies.
In its report this year, the Commission for Countering Extremism urged the government to crack down on Cage, which sparked controversy in 2015 after its research director hailed the notorious Isis
terrorist known as Jihadi John as a “beautiful young man”.
And Ramadan Tent Project’s own official Twitter count has praised another Muslim advocacy group, Mend, which the Board of Deputies will not work with.
In 2016, the Board said Mend risked “increasing hostility and suspicion between the Jewish and Muslim communities, rather than building trust and empathy”. Sir Keir last month pulled out of attending a virtual event hosted by the project after the JC highlighted concerns about its support for Cage and Mend.
It has now emerged the Ramadan Tent Project was a recipient of taxpayers’ money after it was awarded a £130,000 grant under the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund (CRF).
Administered by Arts Council England, the CRF was announced by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden in July 2020. The £1.57billion rescue package was designed to help cultural and heritage organisations to stay afloat during the pandemic and has awarded funding to more than 5,000 organisations and sites.
An Arts Council England spokeswoman said that the fast-breaking iftar celebration hosted by the Ramadan Tent
Project was the UK’s “largest annual cultural community event held during Ramadan” which included “arts, spoken word performances, visual arts and architectural installations”.
She added: “The event showcases Ramadan as a cultural festival open to all, reporting that more than 100,000 people with different beliefs, life experiences and viewpoints have taken part in the project since it was established.
“The published terms of the fund are clear that awards cannot cover costs related to the promotion of the beliefs of political or faith organisations.”
A Ramadan Tent Project spokeswoman described the past year as “one of the most challenging and uncertain times”. She added: “Ramadan Tent Project, like many hundreds of thousands of local and national arts, culture and heritage organisations in Britain, was deeply affected by the pandemic.
“Thanks to the government’s Culture Recovery Fund, we were able to continue to contribute and highlight the importance of co-creating spaces of culture and belonging between different communities and organisations. We are proud to be acknowledged as a pillar of Britain’s rich cultural ecology.”
The JC revealed last month how, in 2017, Project CEO Omar Salha posted his support for Cage on Twitter.
He wrote:
“Time for those who stand for the values of justice and liberty to support UK Cage and not be intimidated by the powers that be.”
Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham co-hosted last month’s open iftar despite Sir Keir’s 11th hour withdrawal from the same event.