The Scottish Islamic Foundation, a controversial Islamic group, which was launched by First Minister Alex Salmond back in 2008, has hit major financial problems and looks to be wound up. The Foundation was awarded tax payer grants from the SNP government. Its purpose we are told was to improve community relations, raise awareness of the Muslim faith (like we really need that!) and help its young leaders?
Its first chief executive was, Osama Saeed, a former aide to Alex Salmond and an SNP candidate for the Glasgow Central seat in the Westminster elections.
SNP Glasgow list MSP, Humza Yousaf, was a director of SIF Ltd from May 2008 to September 2009.
The organisation was awarded £405,000 in grants by Salmonds government within months of its creation. SIF announced it would hold the country`s biggest celebration of Islamic culture in Glasgow in June of 2009. Salmond predicted IslamFest (don`t you love it!) would be an enormous event for Glasgow and Scotland.
Bang! The project collapsed and SIF had to pay back £128,000, after £72,000 had been spent on this joke. Then SIF decided that it would hold Etisal, an Islamic financial event in November 2009. Amazingly, even that fell through. Then half the £405,000 grant was withheld.
A Scottish Government spokeswomen said
“Due to SIF`s failure to deliver its agreed outcomes during the period (2007-08 to 2010-11) £202,460 was withheld. This resulted in grant payments totalling £203,292, being made. The funding resulted in a series of events to help tackle Islamophobia in March and April 2010.”
So there you are. An Islamic organisation awared funds by the SNP administration with hard working tax payers money. Website offline, phones not being answered and most of its board resigned. The blogsite has not been up dated for 2 years.
Now SIF appears to be in pre-dissolution. £203,292 of tax payers money, went on this Islamic group.