The ‘Cost’ of living for Muslim Charities

How is the Cost-of-Living crisis is impacting the UK’s Muslim and Faith-led organisations?

Last month, on the 2^nd March, MCF held a roundtable discussion with various members and representatives of our community. Panel experts included Theos Think Tank, Muslim Council of Britain , Islamic Relief UK (IRUK), Muslim Hands, National Zakat Foundation (NZF), the Council of Sri Lankan Muslim Organisations UK (COSMOS UK) and Khizra Mosque, UKIM, as well as several representatives from the Voluntary and Charity Sector. The event was well-attended with over 25 delegates joining us on the day.

The discussion uncovered some shocking hard truths about how British Muslims are being adversely affected by rising prices and inflation.

Many charities and community organisations reported unprecedented levels of demand for their support from struggling families unable to pay bills or afford food.  This sharp increase in need, following the impact and slow recovery of the Covid19 pandemic, has placed voluntary and charitable organisations in precarious positions, unable to meet core costs.

Since the discussion, we have started reaching out to grass-roots lead charities and organisations to build on the discoveries of the session. So far, our study found:

There has been a huge jump in the number of homeless people and refugees attending services like food banks, soup kitchens and asking for food poverty assistance.

Attendee demographic has changed with increasing numbers of working people presenting for food assistance. Despite earning an income, this is now insufficient to support their family amid increased energy and food costs. Zero hours contracts and job insecurity are also impacting. These people are not used to attending food banks or asking for direct assistance from charities and many raise issues of their integrity being breached, if they choose to attend.

There continues to be a major impact on mental health. This includes recipients and those on the front line helping them and facilitating the delivery of their needs. Mental health support and wellbeing needs to be prioritised as an urgent point of action.

People’s physical health has also deteriorated. There are plenty of research material that stress the importance of society’s physical health and its impact on economic productivity/output. Our charities have informed us that this has become a top priority from them and many of the food parcel services aim to provide a balanced and healthy diet.

It’s clear that this Cost-of-Living crisis has deeply affected Muslim communities and those who support them. With the Muslim population experiencing lower rates of employment, higher rates of poverty and recovering from disproportionate impact of Covid19, communities are struggling.

Civil society’s last line of defence, “the safety net of our society” (Rich, 2022) – the religious and faith charities –  need support to continue providing essential services. The ongoing  energy crisis and its impact on these organisations, should not be ignored as inflated bills have spiked core costs and drained money from other resources.

These tough times require collaboration and the Muslim community is mobilising its institutions and work force. However, this issue is beyond the proactive efforts of one community – there needs to be genuine change for all.

Bibliography

Rich, H. (2022). A Torn Safety Net: How the cost of living crisis threatens its own last line of defence. London : Theos Think Tank.

Baris Varli is National Emergency and Members Engagement Coordinator at MCF. To find out more about the impact of the Cost of Living crisis on Muslim-led charities or share your views, please email info@muslimcharitiesforum.or.uk

 [LB1]Figure of attendees