Now as Hugh requested some information on the pickle in Scotland, which by one of those coindidences which there is no such thing as, was the subject of a hat tip e-mail from Alan that I have just opened. I was intending to use the story from Scotland on Sunday but this article is interesting and links to the Scotsman anyway. James Brandon from the Centre for Social Cohesion.
The Scottish government has given £215,000 to the "Scottish Islamic Foundation", a new group set up by Osama Saeed, a former spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the British wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Scotland On Sunday reported yesterday that the group has received £200,000 to hold "Islamfest", an Islamic event in Glasgow, along with an additional £10,152 for computers and office equipment and £5,600 for administration and training.
Last night, Muslim leaders across Scotland – including a prominent member of the SNP – expressed anger at the funding, alleging SIF was receiving preferential treatment because of Saeed's Nationalist links.
In another case, the Muslim Sufi community asked for up to £30,000 to help fund a Sufi festival in Glasgow. They were informed by a Scottish Government official in November last year that "all resources have been committed for the rest of the financial year".
Mohammad Asif, of the Scottish Afghan Society, complained: "The First Minister here is just helping his own party members.”
Along with Saeed, the Foundation's members also include SNP researcher Humza Yousaf and Gail Lythgoe, the national secretary of SNP Students.
Ken Imrie, the group's chairman, said: "SIF grew organically from a large number of volunteers who have years of experience in Islamic and youth issues and who saw the need for a more professional approach.
"We are non-partisan politically, our board includes individuals of different political persuasions and none, and indeed our launch was addressed by all the main political parties. "
He added: "The IslamFest will bring Muslims and non-Muslims together, and aims to bring trade and investment into Scotland from the Muslim world to the benefit of the whole country."
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Islamic Foundation was established with enormous goodwill and support on a cross-party, cross-community and inter-faith basis."
She added: "Funding events like IslamFest is part of a range of activities being developed to tackle intolerance and promote dialogue."
She said the Sufi festival entry fee had counted against their application. (IslamExpo wasn’t cheap! Now back to James Brandon)
However, the newspaper also reported that the grant "has infuriated senior members of the Muslim community", including members of larger and longer-established Islamic organisations.
Several said that Saeed's group had little influence in the Muslim community. Adil Bhatti, said: "The people from the Muslim community, they do not know about this organisation. It is not supported by the majority."
Significantly, Osama Saeed spent the weekend not in Scotland but in London, speaking at IslamExpo, an event dominated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood and members of the Muslim Association of Britain, for whom Saeed was formerly a spokesman.
During IslamExpo, whose events were attended and recorded by CSC staff, he was frequently seen conferring with Anas al-Tikriti, the main organiser of the event who is another former member of the Muslim Association of Britain.
