Only 22 mosques funded under government scheme to protect places of worship from hate crime

DISTRUST of the UK government's anti-terrorism programme by British Muslims is one of the obstacles to mosques availing a scheme to protect places of worship from hate crime.

Figures cited in a The Guardian report released on Sunday (30) revealed that just 22 mosques received funding of £375,413 last year. Applications by 24 mosques failed.

The £375,413 awarded to the mosques is just a tiny fraction of the £14m provided by a separate government fund for assisting the Jewish community, the report noted.

Bureaucracy surrounding the application process and the inability of mosques in poor areas to pay costs upfront before being reimbursed have been cited as reasons for mosques not taking advantage of the Home Office's protective security scheme.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) also pointed out that the scheme had been closed at times when mosques needed it, such as during Ramadan and after Christchurch attacks.

Without changes, the MCB said in a document sent to the Home Office, the scheme “will fail to deliver the desired outcomes of good uptake, trust and respect among Muslim and likely other faith communities in Britain today”.

Some Muslim communities ignored the fund due to distrust of the government’s Prevent strategy. Instead, they raised funds to pay for their own security arrangements and training, according to the MCB.

The largest number of applications for funding last year came from mosques in the north-west and West Midlands, with 10 and 8 respectively, figures obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act revealed. Seven came from London.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are proud of our Muslim communities and are absolutely committed to ensuring they, like everyone else, are able to practise their faith in safety and free from fear.

“Earlier this year the home secretary announced he had doubled funding for next year’s places of worship protective security to £1.6m. We have also streamlined the application process to make it easier to apply.”

In the aftermath of the Chirstchurch attacks, the Home Office increased funding for next year's Places of Worship Protective Security in order to "reassure communities and safeguard mosques and other places of worship."

The government said it would double funding to $2.1 million, in addition to making available a new $6.6 million fund to provide security training at mosques and other places of worship.