SIDA Investigation believes that Islamic Relief’s development assistance work is of high quality

Last summer, it emerged that some of the main representatives of Islamic Relief had expressed anti-Semitic and pro-violence views on social media. The actors had to leave the organization and several investigations were set.

One investigation was conducted by the Swedish Development Assistance Agency (Sida), which has cooperated with Islamic Relief since 2005. According to the investigation, which was published yesterday, April 15th, Islamic Relief “has dealt with incidents responsibly and is taking measures to prevent similar things from happening in the future.” . “

to me Sida investigation The relief work provided by Islamic Relief is characterized by high quality and effectiveness, and the organization has a “great capacity as a humanitarian aid organization”. In addition to the investigation conducted by the Swedish Islamic Relief Organization, the Swedish agency also looked into two previous investigations conducted by International Islamic Relief during the fall and winter seasons.

It is about Charity Commission, Which is subject to the British government and regulates charities in England and Wales, and Independent bodyIt is an independent investigation set up by Islamic Relief itself after the scandals.

The two British investigations found no evidence of institutional discrimination, racism, or anti-Semitism within the International Islamic Relief Organization. They also state that the organization acted quickly and aggressively, and took action to correct what happened.

Recommendations are welcome

When Omferden talks with Swedish Islamic Relief, Amira Malik Miller, head of the impact division, said investigative recommendations, aimed primarily at Islamic Relief Worldwide, are welcome.

We and Global Islamic Relief have taken them into consideration and have taken forward-looking action to implement the recommendations as quickly as possible. We at Islamic Relief Sweden have also developed our own action plan that translates the recommendations into our context and our legislation here in Sweden, and encourages all partner offices to do the same, says Amira Malik Miller.

And indicate that the organization already before the scandals work change was underway. Something that the head of the Swedish International Islamic Relief Organization at the time, Lamia Al-Omari, also talked about in a lengthy interview in Umverdeen last year.

– The SIDA review is good and is in line with what has already emerged and picked up by our change work already. They came to the conclusion that we adhere to both humanitarian principles and other ethical guidelines that exist for humanitarian assistance, and by a good margin we adhere to those principles, says Princess Milk Miller.

Several governments placed global Islamic relief under the microscope after the events, including in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Support was not suspended in any way, without the agreement expiring or temporarily freezing it pending investigation.

Preparation stopped

Also in Sweden, preparations have been halted on whether to extend the existing agreement between Sida and Swedish Islamic Relief. Jacob Weirerman is Head of the Humanitarian Unit in Side.

Now that we have the results of the investigation, we can continue to support us. This is an extension of the existing cooperation agreement for one year. The reason this period is only a year old is because it is important for us not only to do and say the right things during the first period, but also to stick with what they said over time. Therefore, we will follow up on that during the year, he says.

Jacob Wererman reiterates Seda’s distances from his anti-Semitic and pro-violence rhetoric. He says it is unacceptable, which is also why Seda immediately appointed an investigation.

We looked at how this was handled in the UK and how Swedish Islamic Relief, a partner organization with us, dealt with it. The investigation shows that the incidents do not reflect the organization’s values ​​and its humanitarian work, and that the measures taken were sufficient for us to be able to continue our cooperation.

newly Approved by the European Commission Echo relief organization also Islamic Relief Sweden and Islamic Relief Germany as strategic partner organizations. Canada has also joined in supporting the organization’s work in Yemen.

According to Princess Malik Miller, the events of the past year did not significantly affect the fieldwork, but they did not work well either. She also believes that it is important for donors to take responsibility for their money and actually review the activities they support.

Eric Halkier