UK Lets Iranian-Linked Charity Sponsor Migrant Visas
An Islamic charity in London under investigation for suspected Iranian regime ties retains its Home Office authorization to sponsor migrant visas despite selling Hezbollah merchandise.
The Islamic Centre of England remains listed on the Home Office’s official register of organisations permitted to sponsor skilled workers and religious ministers, according to The European Conservative. The centre has not brought any workers into the country since 2022, though its sponsorship licence remains active.
The Home Office has refused to revoke the organisation’s licence while Britain’s Charity Commission continues its investigation into alleged connections with Tehran. A government spokesman stated that authorities take the threat from the Iranian regime and its supporters seriously, noting that proven wrongdoing could result in criminal prosecution, civil action, and loss of licences.
Lord Walney, a former government adviser on political violence, condemned the situation as wholly unacceptable and called on the Home Secretary to urgently review the centre’s status. He expressed alarm that an organisation facing such grave allegations and currently under investigation retains the power to facilitate migration into Britain.
The investigation has already forced changes to the centre’s governance structure. The organisation was required to eliminate rules mandating that its trustees include a religious representative of Iran’s supreme leader.
Hezbollah Merchandise and Soleimani Vigils
Additional controversy erupted following a community bazaar held at the centre this year. Vendors reportedly sold Hezbollah-themed phone cases, pro-Iranian regime key rings, and stickers featuring Qassim Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force who was killed by a United States drone strike in Iraq in 2020. The centre subsequently hosted a candlelit vigil in Soleimani’s memory.
The centre’s director and imam, Seyed Hashem Moosavi, has publicly characterised demonstrators opposing Iran’s rulers as soldiers of Satan.
The Islamic Centre of England denies being controlled by Tehran and insists it is an independent British charity operating within the law. A spokesman stated that like many charities and faith organisations in the United Kingdom, the centre holds a Home Office sponsor licence enabling it to sponsor skilled workers when meeting immigration system requirements.
Wider Pattern of Questionable Sponsors
The case forms part of a broader controversy regarding which organisations receive permission to bring workers into Britain. The Islamic College in north London, which has also faced allegations of Iranian regime links, maintains its approved sponsor status.
The Islamic College was founded by Saied Reza Ameli, a member of Iran’s Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, and has reportedly maintained an affiliation with Al-Mustafa International University. The United States has sanctioned the Iranian institution, describing it as an instrument of indoctrination. The Islamic College has dismissed claims of such affiliation as unfounded.
Separate reporting has revealed that Islamic bookshops selling antisemitic material and books considered radicalisation threats in British prisons have also received permission to sponsor foreign workers.
Reform UK Member of Parliament Lee Anderson said the revelations exposed catastrophic failings in the immigration system. Rather than doctors and engineers, we brought in staff for Islamic shops selling books on jihad, he stated, adding that it defied belief the Home Office did not recognise this problem.
With information from The European Conservative
