Inter Faith Network faces imminent closure
‘We are saddened and angry that the Government, which has itself emphasised the importance of solid interfaith relations, has not honoured its commitment to a funding grant which would have given the IFN time to source other funding.'
Friends are being urged to write to MPs and sign a petition to save the Inter Faith Network (IFN) from closure.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) said that it is ‘saddened and angry’ that the network is facing closure, with the decision to be finalised on 22 February.
The IFN – of which Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations (QCCIR) is a member – said it was forced to make the decision after government funding was withdrawn.
The background to this decision, said the IFN board, was a letter from Michael Gove, the secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on 19 January, saying that he was ‘minded to withdraw’ the £155,000 funding offered last July because IFN has a trustee who is a member of the Muslim Council of Britain. This posed a reputational risk to the government, he argued. The board responded with detailed key points, including that ‘IFN does not endorse the views of any of its member bodies, nor can any one member body, or indeed Trustee, exert improper influence over the organisation’. It also said that IFN has never been informed that ‘any fresh Government funding offered would be conditional on IFN’s not having a Trustee with a link to the Muslim Council of Britain’.
Judith Baker, ecumenical and interfaith officer for BYM, which includes being secretary to QCCIR, told the Friend: ‘Quakers have been longstanding members of the Inter Faith Network. Many Friends have engaged with Inter Faith Week in particular, using resources from the network to organise diverse local activities to foster community harmony. At times of potential conflict, faith leaders and groups have been able to use the good relationships built up through the network to dispel the notion that trouble is due to faith, when it is usually political or other factors which lead to conflict.
‘We are saddened and angry that the Government, which has itself emphasised the importance of solid interfaith relations, has not honoured its commitment to a funding grant which would have given the IFN time to source other funding. The irony of this decision is that IFN provided a channel for government ministers to communicate directly with a wide range of faith groups in this country.’
In a statement on 7 February, the IFN board said the decision to close was taken ‘with deep regret’ and will be confirmed on 22 February, unless funding has been secured.
The network was originally offered up to £155,000, as well as access to a £45,000 underspend on its 2022-23 grant. This was ‘subject to IFN submitting certain information’, which IFN said it did. The petition to save IFN is on the website www.change.org.
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