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REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1172565

ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts 31 March 2021

Contents

31 March 2021

	Page
Trustees' annual report	1-8
Independent examiner's report	9
Receipts and Payments Accounts	10-11

ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

Reference and Administrative information

Registered charity name:	Ansari Qadiri Rifai Sufi Order of the United Kingdom
Charity registration number:	1172565
Principal Office:	6 Sanderstead Close
Board of Trustees:	London SW12 0AQ England Amina Jappie (Chair)
	Sukainah Jauhar (Secretary)
	Fadila Laloui (Treasurer)
	Faghrie Jappie (Deputy Treasurer)
	Rita Ali
Independent Examiner:	Sayyed Goolamhossen Irfan Hussain BFP FCA ASL Partners 14 Honister Gardens
	Stanmore HA7 2EH
	England
Banking:	HSBC UK Retail Unit 8, 38 Canada Place Canary Wharf
	London E14 5AH

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

Background

The Ansari Qadiri Rifai Sufi Order of the UK commonly referred as AQRT UK has been operating as an informal group since 2002 and was registered by the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in April 2017 (registration number 1172565).

The trustees present their annual report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The legal status of the charity is that of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which is subject to its governing document, the Constitution that took effect on the 12 April 2017.

Trustees

Management of the charity is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The trustees come from diverse backgrounds, skills, expertise and experiences. The trustees board meet on a regular basis and between meetings communicate by emails.

Trustees are aware of their legal obligations under charity law, the aims and objectives of the charity, its governing frameworks, decision-making processes; strategic plans and financial performance etc.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

Any new trustees will be elected and co-opted by members at the annual general meeting in accordance with the Constitution. No new trustees were recruited during this period.

Induction and training of new trustees

New trustees will undergo orientation and will receive a trustee information pack and the opportunity to attend in-house and/or external training relevant to their roles.

Partnerships

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020/2021 AQRT UK continued to work with a range of partners including other faith groups, community groups and voluntary organisations. This included the West London Synagogue, the South London Interfaith Group (SLIG) and the Africa Advocacy Foundation (AAF). AQRT UK is also a member of the National Council for Voluntary Organisation (NCVO).

AQRT UK has also a Memorandum of Understanding in place with the Islamic Sufi Order of Qadiri Rifai Tariqa of the Americas a registered church in the United States.

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

Organisational structure and decision-making

The trustees are responsible for setting strategies and policies and ensuring that they are implemented.

Volunteers

AQRT UK recognises that volunteers play a key and integral part in service delivery. We have recruited 10 volunteers from within our membership including trustees. They have a diverse range of experience, skills and backgrounds in terms of culture and language. All our trustees are DBS checked and our other volunteers are currently always supervised by trustees and will be DBS checked when appropriate.

We aim to support our volunteers in their roles and receive regular feedback about their performance.

Risk Management

The main risk facing the charity is currently maintaining income at a sufficient level to carry out all the activities and services. In addition to the current policies in place, the trustees have reviewed and assessed the risks to which the charity may be exposed with particular reference to those relating to the operations and finances. The charity has set up a risk management strategy, which comprises: An annual review of the risks the charity may face.

The establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the review; and the implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should those risks materialise.

In the meanwhile, the trustees remain satisfied that all insurable risks have been identified and adequately dealt with and that the charities exposure to other risks is kept at a minimum by good working practice by the trustees and volunteers.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Public benefit

The trustees are required to comply with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 and consider the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit, "Charities and Public Benefits".

Our Charitable Objectives are:

To advance the religion of Islam, in particular Sufi practices and teachings, for public benefit, by organising regular prayer meetings, lectures, celebration of religious festivals and literature on Sufism to educate others about Islam and Sufism.
The promotion of religious harmony for the benefit of the public by promoting knowledge and mutual understanding and respect of the beliefs and practices of different religious faiths through the organisation, participation and support of interfaith events and partnership activities within the United Kingdom.

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

The relief of those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or another disadvantage.

Our activities are consistent with national and local strategies and action plans to enhance religious harmony and relieve poverty. Our activities aim to promote equality and diversity, wellbeing and social outcomes and the independence of service users. We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults from harm and isolation. We work to empower and encourage our service users to actively participate in activities and processes that improve their circumstances and positively contribute to their communities.

Achievements and performance

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on many charities and AQRT UK has faced major challenges and restrictions in continuing to deliver our charitable objectives. AQRT UK immediately responded to the situation by moving its weekly congregational zikrs (Sufi meditation) online via Zoom. This enabled us to continue providing spiritual meditation, support and Sufi teachings. This offered much support with mental wellbeing and social isolation and loneliness. Overall, we provided services to more than 1,200 individuals through the following activities:

Congregational Zikr

AQRT UK board of Trustees decided on 13 March 2020 to suspend all the weekly zikrs held at the Unitarian Essex Church due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Monday weekly zikr moved online via Zoom from 17 March 2020. The format of the online UK weekly zikr remained the same and was open to everyone who came in peace. A short talk on Sufism was given prior to each zikr. The topics covered a range of Sufi teachings. The online Monday zikr was advertised on Meetup and Eventbrite. We regularly had attendees from different faiths and no faith and also from abroad. Those present are welcome to participate or simply observe. After the meditation we pray for Love, Peace, Togetherness, Unity and Prosperity for all humanity. From 24 April 2020, an additional weekly congregational zikr was held online from Basildon (Essex) every Sunday. This zikr is advertised to all the murids. From April 2020 to March 2021, we held a total of 111 zikrs online via Zoom. The total number of attendees for these zikrs was 1,235 (486 men and 789 women).

Interfaith and Intra-faith work

The COVID-19 pandemic during April 2020 and March 2021 had a significant impact on AQRT UK’s ability to undertake the full range of Interfaith and Intra-faith work we are usually involved in as most of the activities entailed face to face, group and community-based meetings which were not possible due to government restrictions introduced. However, AQRT UK responded to the challenges by making use of Zoom and other online methods to continue to engage with Faith and Community Groups. We have also been involved with Health and Local Authority agencies in sharing knowledge, addressing myths in relation to COVID-19 and encouraging COVID 19 testing and vaccination.

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

Unfortunately, religious intolerance continues and this has included the dissemination of a negative and incorrect view of Islam as well as anti-Semitism. We have taken part in joint discussion groups and activities aimed to combat/challenge these belief systems, help differentiate cultural practices a from religious practices and promote Islam and Sufi teachings which promote Love, Peace and Togetherness. We have attempted to be inclusive in our activities by trying to ensure we provide factual information to all interested people, and to collaborate with other Community and Faith Groups with whom we share common principles and aims.

During 2020/21, we focused on promoting religious harmony and mutual understanding by trying to continue to maintain networks and links and develop and share knowledge and respect for the beliefs and practices of different religious faiths.

This has proved challenging as many of the existing networks were not active especially during the early stage of the COVID-19 restrictions. Consequently, we were able mainly through telephone, email, Zoom and other means to become involved and participate in interfaith events and partnership activities. A few examples are highlighted below:

We have continued to maintain links with the West London Synagogue (WLS) albeit informally and where possible to give a Sufi perspective on a number of topical issues in the WLS Inter Faith programme including the Holocaust and Genocide. We look forward to expanding our input particularly with the Women’s Group as conditions return to normality.
We have continued our active membership mainly thorough Zoom meetings and events of the South London Interfaith Group (SLIG) which aims to tackle important topical issues from a multi-faith or intra-faith perspective
AQRT was invited to take part in the NHS SE London CCG Engagement forum on COVID-19 which looked at effective engagement methods with Faith and Community Groups to brief on the local COVD situation, and tackle mis-information and barriers to accessing services. We took part in a number of targeted events to support this work in Muslim Communities including development of resources.

Promotion of Islam and Sufism

The promotion of Sufism and Islam took place online via Zoom every Monday and Sunday at the weekly congregational zikrs. This was performed through talks followed by questions and answers before or after each zikr where principles, methodology, practices, stories and culture of Sufism are discussed and taught. Spiritual teaching by the AQRT UK chaplains was also provided online after the Monday congregational zikr on a one-to-one basis, as well as in depth phone calls to discuss Sufism. Further opportunities for contact, as well as email discussions come via social media. We also use our Inter Faith work as an opportunity to promote Islam and Sufism.

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

The spiritual head of our Sufi order Shaykh Taner Ansari and his wife Shaykha Muzeyyen Ansari provided online weekly talks and Zikrs from 24 March 2020 on YouTube. These events were also advertised to both our members and our regular public who also had the opportunity to interact directly with our spiritual leader during these difficult times.

In addition, we have supported isolated and ill students and members by regular phone contacts.

Work to relieve poverty

Being a very small charity, this aspect of our charitable objectives during the COVID-19 pandemic was dramatically impacted due to the loss of donation and also the availability of our volunteers. This is still an area which we aim to expand despite the COVID-19 pandemic that has negatively impacted our ability to fundraise and apply for funding. We have developed an emergency programme through which families and individuals experiencing hunger, poverty, homelessness and who need emergency support are provided with food and essential goods upon assessment.

We are committed to develop the work stream and we are attempting to attract funding and form partnerships with like-minded voluntary organisations who are already working in this field. This will include recruiting, training and placing our trained volunteers to support activities such as soup kitchens, foodbanks, drop-in centres, night shelters etc.

Our membership and trustees have diverse cultural backgrounds and include social workers, medical professionals, and Safeguarding consultants. We also have links to the Sufi and wider Muslim community. Consequently, we are able to respond quickly by providing support to address and meet urgent needs. We have experience of working in partnership including local Social Services and other voluntary sector organisations. We are currently restrained by limited funding and availability of volunteers.

Future aims and objectives

Our charity objectives will continue to shape the trustees’ future plans with a target to expand our activities especially on work to relief poverty. Being a very small charity with limited funding solely based on individual donations at this stage, we intend where possible to focus on partnership bids which will maximise resources by preventing duplication. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic presents major challenges both operationally and financially, as well as increasing the need for services as more people face poverty and isolation.

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Trustees’ Annual Report 31 March 2021

Financial review

AQRT UK had total receipts of £10,662 as shown on the Receipts and Payments Accounts. For the year ended 31 March 2021, there were net expenses of £495 (2020: net receipts £3,011). All AQRT UK assets are held for the furtherance of its objectives and are adequate and sufficient to meet its objectives. AQRT UK did not apply for any contracts during the year ended 31 March 2021 AQRT UK does not employ any staff and trustees do not receive any remuneration. Trustees and volunteers can receive reasonable travel allowance subsistence cost.

Reserves policy

The trustees review the reserve policy of the organisation annually. Their decision on the level of the reserve depends on the level of the unrestricted funds available. For this year, they decided that the current level of reserve should be maintained at least at a level equivalent to approximately three months' expenditure (excluding the collection and distribution of Zakat, Fidya, ninety percent of tithing and our community activities and programme). The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of any significant drop in the organisation's funding, they will be able to continue AQRT UK's current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised.

This leaves free reserve at 31 March 2021 of £841 which is equal to between 4 and 5 months average expenditure during the year ended 31 March 2021

Principal funding sources

The current Charity’s main source of income is through individual donations, donations at zikr, zakat, fidya and ten percent on each tithing collected by members.

The total amount donated at Zikr was £nil.

Restriction on funds

Restricted income includes ninety percent tithing payable to the Islamic Sufi Order of Qadiri Rifai Tariqa of the Americas based in New York, USA, linked to the teaching, training, spiritual

development and individual support provided to the Charity’s members.

Restricted income includes zakat and fidya and these funds are to be used solely for the relief of need, financial hardship and for AQRT UK activities.

Investment Policy

There are no restrictions on the Charity's power to invest but as we do not have available funds to make investments this is not an immediate issue for us.

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

31 March 2021

Trustees’ Annual Report

Trustees’ responsibilities

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the Receipts and Payments Accounts (“financial statements”) in accordance with applicable law and receipts and payments accounting.

Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the receipts and payments of the charity for that period.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees’ annual report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 28 January 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Amina Jappie

Chair of the Ansari Qadiri Sufi Order of the UK

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Independent examiner’s report Year ended 31 March 2021

Independent examiner's report on the accounts

Section A Independent Examiner’s Report

Report to the trustees/ Charity Name members of Ansari Qadiri Rifai Sufi Order Of The United Kingdom On accounts for the year 31 March 2021 Charity no 1172565 ended (if any) Set out on pages 10 - 11 (remember to include the page numbers of additional sheets) I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31/03/2021. Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:  accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or  the accounts do not accord with the accounting records I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Date: 28/1/2022 Signed: Name: Irfan Hussain BFP FCA Relevant professional Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: 14 Honister Gardens, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 2EH

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ANSARI QADIRI RIFAI SUFI ORDER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Accounts

Year ended 31 March 2021

	ANSARIQADIRI RIFAISUFIORDEROF THE	ANSARIQADIRI RIFAISUFIORDEROF THE	ANSARIQADIRI RIFAISUFIORDEROF THE	1172565	CC16a
	UNITED KINGDOM
	Receipts andpayments accounts
	For the period from	Period start date	To	Period end date
		01-Apr-20		31-Mar-21

Section A Receipts and payments
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds	Total funds	Last year
	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations	492	-	-	492	5,893
Tithing	959	8,631	-	9,590	7,641
Zakaat andFidya	-	580	-	580	1,509
	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	1,451	9,211	-	10,662	15,043

A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table).
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-
*Sub total*	-	-	-	-	-

**Total receipts **	1,451	9,211	-	10,662	15,043

A3 Payments
Premises rent	600	-	-	600	1,467
Teaching program	-	-	-	-	3,177
Bank charges	151	-	-	151	174
General expenses	806	-	-	806	1,714
Zakaat and Fidya	-	-	-	-	-
Tithing paid	-	9,600	-	9,600	5,500
	-	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	1,557	9,600	-	11,157	12,032

A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table)
	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-
**Sub total **	-	-	-	-	-

**Total payments **	1,557	9,600	-	11,157	12,032

*Net of receipts/(payments)*	- 106	-389	-	- 495	3,011
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-	-	-
A6 Cash funds lastyear end	1,547	3,969	-	5,516	2,505
*Cash funds thisyear end*	1,441	3,580	-	5,021	5,516

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