Every few months, we wake up to yet another “surprise” discovery of an Iranian-linked charity, religious/cultural centre, or so-called community promoting Islamism in the U.K. This time, it’s The Ark in Govanhill, Glasgow—a venue that describes itself as a “Muslim community that contributes to a stronger Scottish society” and which seeks to be an “ethical[,] self-sufficient, independent organisation.”
U.K. officials have remained largely silent in the face of Iran’s use of community centres, charities, or cultural hubs to promote its agenda.
Nevertheless, the organization twice served as an official polling station for elections held by the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that has plotted numerous attacks against the U.K.
The Ark is not an obscure corner shop in a back alley. It houses the Muslim Council of Scotland, an umbrella group that advises the Scottish Government about “Islamophobia” and anti-Muslim hate crimes. So, one might reasonably assume that someone, somewhere, is doing their due diligence. But clearly, not well enough.
The Ark is merely the latest dot in a growing network. Last month, we learned from The Times of London that the Ahl al-Bait Society Scotland—which has pocketed over £400,000 of U.K. taxpayer funding—hosted a vigil for Ebrahim Raisi, the late Iranian president responsible for ordering the execution of thousands of political prisoners in Iranian prisons. In late 2023, we learned that the Al-Mahdi Islamic Centre, which bagged another £370,000 in government grants, proudly displayed Iran’s flag alongside images of Ayatollah Khomeini, the man who ordered a death sentence on British author Salman Rushdie.
Yet astonishingly, these footholds of Iranian influence aren’t even comprehensively covered in the exhaustive Tehran Calling report by Policy Exchange think tank, nor in the U.K. Parliament’s recent 260-page Intelligence and Security Committee report detailing Iran’s malevolent reach.
Despite this vigilance, we still stumble on new stones to overturn—and what crawls out from beneath them is always the same: a hostile regime that considers Britain to be the “little satan,” chants Death to England, and ranks as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism having yet another outlet in the U.K.
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader, is right to demand that not a penny more of public money should end up in the coffers of these proxies. But statements alone are not enough. When British politicians are told about these matters, they are quick to issue statements, condemnations, and sound bites expressing “deep concern.” But when it comes to action—real, meaningful action—suddenly no one wants to be the one to push the button. The fear of appearing intolerant, of being labelled anti-community or “Islamophobic,” paralyses our leaders into inaction while Tehran quietly expands its influence, charity by charity, cultural hub by cultural hub.
This dithering is even harder to excuse given the tools already at the government’s disposal. The National Security Act and the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) received Royal Assent in 2023. The previous security minister, Tom Tugendhat, and the current one, Dan Jarvis, have repeatedly insisted that the National Security Act and FIRS can be used right now by our security services to counter hostile state influence—and Iran has been named explicitly and at the top of the list as such. And yet, what do we see? The only three Iranians arrested under the National Security Act so far were picked up for espionage-type activities, like gathering information on certain individuals. Otherwise, officials have remained largely silent in the face of Iran’s use of community centres, charities, or cultural hubs to promote its agenda.
These so-called “community hubs” present themselves as charities, as cultural centres, as harmless places of worship. But the moment they serve as polling stations for a brutal theocracy—or memorial halls for its hardline leaders—they are no longer harmless.
They are part of Tehran’s soft-power strategy. They are instruments of influence. They are outposts of intimidation for Iranian dissidents living here. And they are a direct slap in the face to the freedoms we claim to defend.
The bigger question is how many more of these quietly bob in our neighbourhoods—unreported, unmonitored, unnoticed until the next headline exposes them? If we are truly serious about protecting our democracy, the era of polite neglect must end. The regime in Tehran has shown us, time and again, that it will exploit every loophole, every naivety, every good-faith gesture.
They’re counting on our blindness. It’s time we opened our eyes—wide. But wide eyes alone are not enough. They must be followed by bold, decisive action. Because only when vigilance is matched by political will can we ensure that Britain remains a safe harbor for free citizens — not a quiet backyard dock for hostile authoritarian regimes to park their influence unchecked.
