British Muslims donate an estimated £2.2 billion to charitable causes each year — up to four times the national average — with a growing shift toward supporting projects within the UK.
Traditionally, much of this giving was directed overseas but a new study and report shows an increasing desire among British Muslims to support domestic causes.
The Building Britain: British Muslims Giving Back report by Equi says this trend presents a major opportunity to harness Muslim generosity for the benefit of wider British society, regardless of faith.
“While a significant share of British Muslim charitable giving supports international humanitarian causes, there is substantial untapped potential to expand support for UK-based initiatives,” says the report.
“British Muslims are increasingly directing their charitable giving towards local causes. Third and fourth generation immigrants constitute a large proportion of Britain’s 4 million Muslims, who feel a clear sense of belonging within the UK, “ it adds.
British Muslim charities are increasingly stepping in to provide vital services where the welfare state is under strain. Both large and small organisations offer housing assistance, emergency cash grants, food aid, and mental health support to people of all backgrounds, regardless of faith. The report highlights that this work helps ease pressure on public services yet often goes unrecognised.
Despite their growing role, Muslim charities continue to face significant barriers to domestic engagement. These include debanking, securitisation, restrictive government funding criteria, and a lack of formal recognition from public authorities.
The report calls for more inclusive public policymaking that acknowledges the contributions of faith-led charities and supports their effective operation.
Government must engage with Muslim charities more proactively
Among its key recommendations, the report urges the government and statutory agencies to engage more proactively with Muslim and other faith-based charities, recognising their capacity to support UK-based causes.
It calls on HM Treasury to strengthen tax relief and other policies that support faith-led charitable work, while safeguarding financial inclusion for charities of all sizes and faith identities.
The report also calls for expanding established mechanisms such as match-funding schemes to incentivise greater domestic charitable spending.
It further recommends that the government clearly distinguish between organisations that promote religious belief and those that provide faith-informed services to people of all faiths and none.
“Domestic efforts by British Muslim-led charities have significant potential to build on faith-informed giving, harnessing this generosity to reduce financial and logistical pressure on an already over-stretched welfare state and acting as service providers to people of all faiths and none,” says the report.
“Their faith literacy and connections within their local areas enable British Muslim organisations to tackle issues that the government and local authorities may struggle to address in critical areas such as food security, housing and poverty,” it adds.
