London Bangla A Force for the community…
Barrister Nazir Ahmed looks at the pros and cons of
charity collections on Bangla TV Channels.
Bangladeshi Muslims living in the United Kingdom and Europe are very kind and generous when it comes to donating money to charity. They have proved their generosity and visibly shown their kindness in the last decade or so by donating millions of pounds through charity collection programmes shown on Bangla TV Channels. Charity has a special status in the religion of Islam. Paying zakat (almsgiving) by those Muslims who are in a financial position to do so and by rich Muslims is one of the five pillars in Islam. Apart from its obligatory nature, general giving to charity is an option highly encouraged and recommended in Islam, for those who do so are very highly regarded in the hereafter. It is mainly this religious spirit and teaching that have made Bangladeshi Muslims become so generous and kind.
Individual Bangladeshi Muslims have donated for decade after decade in the past. Most of their individual donations used to be given to their poor and needy relatives. This was, no doubt, a positive approach. However, individual donations had some barriers and limitations. Modern technology and organised collection facilities have made the collection and distribution of charitable donations much easier. Reputable and credible charities with charitable donations to spend can now reach and distribute in places where it would be impossible for an individual to do so. But at the same time, the poor and needy relatives of respective donors appear to be deprived of their shares because of the way in which organisations are collecting donations through electronic media. Donors should therefore conduct a balancing exercise: donating to credible charity organisations so that their donation can reach people and places they cannot reach individually, and at the same time they should not deprive their own close relatives who have rights upon them.
It is commonly known that the fee – or charge or service charge – (whatever name it is given) levied by those collecting the donations is one of the important and main sources of the community based TV Channels’ income and funding. There are five Bangla TV Stations in London. In the recent past, there were six. All the Bangla TV Channels are usually seen to be extremely busy with charity activities and collecting donations in the holy month of Ramadhan. Few of them appear to be eagerly waiting throughout the year for the month of Ramadhan to come! During other months of the year, charity collections are arranged only occasionally. On the occasion of special days (e.g., Ashura, Eid-e-Miladunnabi, Sob-e-Barat, Eidul Azha, Meraj, etc.), the charity collection programmes are routinely arranged as well.
Two things are fundamental for viewers in general and for donors in particular, which they ought to know and consider while donating.
First is the money the TV Channels make through their charges. The TV Channels do not disclose how much they normally charge, and nor do the charities concerned with collecting donations reveal how much they are required to pay to the respective Channels. Even the callers themselves, when they ask over the phone, are not told. The donors may not know that the whole amount they have donated, or at least a significant portion of it, may not reach the actual beneficiaries at all, for the amounts collected by some charity organisations are often almost the same or only a little more than the charges those charities had to pay to the TV Channels for facilitating their charity collection programmes.
Second is the question of the transparency and accountability of the charity organisations that collect donations. This is the most important factor. Although there are some nationally and internationally reputable charities which collect donations, whose credibility and transparency are beyond any doubt or question, there are some charity organisations whose credibility, transparency and accountability are very doubtful and questionable. There are some dubious charity organisations which have seen allegations made against the individuals who are behind them. They do not have clean hands, and nor do they have a clean past. Are thousands, often millions, of pounds safe and secured at their hands and at the charities they run and operate? It is worth remembering that putting money into the hands of the wrong persons and wrong organisations does not only deprive legitimate beneficiaries, but these moneys can also be used in wrong ways, for destructive purposes and activities.
There are no proper mechanisms for ensuring the full transparency and accountability of most of the charitable organisations which make appeals at this time. Do the funds reach their destination? Have the beneficiaries – the desperate, needy and destitute for whom these very funds were collected – received those funds? Have the funds been spent on the purposes for which they were collected? Money for thousands of cows for qurbani, for example, may have been collected – but how many cows have actually been bought and given qurbani? There is no way to confirm or verify this with absolute certainty. The regulatory bodies, such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Charity Commission, can do little when the funds have gone abroad.
There are no uniform or standard criteria among the Bangla TV Channels for vetting the organisations which collect charitable donations. The approach the TV Channels take to selecting organisations, and the methods they use, vary from one to another. One or two Bangla TV channels appear to be relatively strict in checking the records and credibility of the organisations before giving them the opportunity and facilities to collect donations from the public, while other TV Channels do not appear to be following the same suit. This is why some organisations have been seen collecting donations on TV when they were not even registered with the Charity Commission. A few of them have appeared to be using different names, those of registered charities, to collect their donations!
Some internationally reputable charity organisations have separate, designated funds set aside to cover their administrative, promotional and campaign costs. They can easily bear the costs of the TV Channels’ service charges, but many charity organisations often struggle to pay the TV Channels’ charges. If that is so, how can they send any net profit from the money collected to putative beneficiaries abroad? For example, a new or unknown charity has collected money at the rate of £500 for a hafiz course. The total money they have collected for 25 huffaz is £12,500. Now, if they are required to pay £5,000-£8,000 to the respective TV Channels by way of the costs or service charges, how will those charities send accurate money for 25 huffaz to Bangladesh? This is very important, since each and every donor has given a fixed amount of money with a specific purpose and intention. This is one example, and many such examples can be given along such lines, such as collections for an Alim course, schemes to sponsor orphans, and so on. Those points ought to be considered by all concerned.
I am not against collecting charitable donations at all, be it by electronic media or via other platforms. Being a practising Muslim, I am a profound supporter of charity for two reasons. First, this is because of the religious significance or charitable giving which I have mentioned at the beginning of this article. Second: the homeland, or motherland – or at least the country of origin – of most of the nearly half a million UK Bangladeshi Muslims is Bangladesh, which is relatively a poor and developing country. More than 50% of the people there are destitute and live well below the poverty line. Bangladeshi Muslims living in the UK and Europe are financially better off than their peers who live in Bangladesh. Thus, they have a great role to play. They can contribute a great deal in alleviating poverty and changing the lives of millions. My only concern is the lack of proper transparency and accountability of the various players involved in collecting the charitable donations.
•All those involved, directly or indirectly, with charity collection and distribution must come forward to maintain and ensure the utmost transparency and accountability. It is the public’s money and beneficiaries’ rights they are dealing with.
•The donors must be careful where they are donating. They should be made aware of the various charges, either by the organisations concerned or by the respective TV Channels, through free and frank disclosure.
•The donors should collectively demand that the organisations handling their donations are accountable and that they feed information back to the donors on how the donations have truly been spent.
•The TV Channels should strive to form a uniform procedure for selecting organisations which may collect charitable donations, which is based on robust and vigorous checks and assessment.
•The regulatory bodies should be more proactive to promote and ensure full transparency and accountability of all those involved.
•Barrister Nazir Ahmed is a legal expert, analyst, writer and columnist.
•He can be contacted via e-mail: ahmedlaw2002@yaho.co.uk
