Now is the Time for Islamic Relief to Pull Out £160 Million from the Genocide Bank

Muslim charities who deposit their money in genocide banks have effectively trapped the Muslim community in a vicious dilemma. The more donations raised, the more capital genocide banks gain to invest in arms and apartheid…

The genocide in Gaza rages on before the eyes of a watching world. Our timelines are flooded with live images of entire neighbourhoods pulverised into dust; children pulled lifeless from beneath collapsed concrete; journalists and medics slaughtered even as they struggle to tend the wounded in hospitals like Nasser, before being bombed again in plain view of humanity.[1]

As many raise their hands in anguish, desperate to know how to stop this slaughter, advocacy group, ‘Boycott Banks for Palestine’ has revealed that hundreds of millions of pounds from the UK Muslim community continue to sit in banks complicit in genocide, apartheid, and occupation.[2] These include high street giants like Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, and U.S. behemoth J.P. Morgan Chase.

The Lion’s Share – Islamic Relief Worldwide

Islamic Relief Worldwide is one of the preeminent Muslim humanitarian organisations providing lifesaving aid across the globe, advocating for justice, and empowering millions. In 2023 alone, its income soared to £274.6 million and its footprint continues to expand through emergency response, livelihoods programmes and advocacy.[3]

Behind this noble mission, and amidst repeated calls and campaigns for divestment,[4] Islamic Relief continues to hold over £160 million with Barclays, a bank that is actively implicated in financing Israel’s war machine nearly two years into genocide.

Barclays – an Unapologetic Financier of Genocide

According to the UN Special Rapporteur’s June 2025 report, “from Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide“, Barclays has directly financed the companies arming and sustaining Israel’s genocide on Gaza.

In 2024 alone, Barclays provided $2 billion in loans and underwriting to firms listed in the UN Human Rights Council database for their involvement in the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). This included a huge $862 million to Lockheed Martin, the mother company of the flagship F35, the Israeli variation – F35I (“Adir”) and various missiles used to pulverise Gaza. This also included a $228 million to Leonardo, a manufacturer of Israeli naval guns, tank trailers and F35 targeting systems to name a few.

While the UK no longer enforces a fixed reserve ratio, deposits like Islamic Relief’s £160 million (~£142M cash from 2024 statements plus estimated £20-30M incoming) at Barclays provide the very capital base the bank uses to multiply its lending. In practice, this means Islamic Relief’s funds can be leveraged into billions of pounds in financing—capital that Barclays has openly directed towards arms manufacturers and corporations sustaining Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Barclays has also been called out for its direct investment in firms like BAE Systems, Elbit Systems, Raytheon, Rolls Royce, and more. In 2024 alone, Barclays increased its arms-related investments by 55% since 2021.[5] As such, Islamic Relief’s charitable funds, parked in Barclays’ vaults, are part of the capital fuelling the engine of genocide.

Islamic Relief’s Justification—and Why It Falls Short

Islamic Relief has stated that it chose Barclays for its vast network and ability to operate in challenging, conflict-affected regions. The charity emphasises that many banking institutions are reluctant to transfer funds to fragile states. Islamic Relief claims that “closing our accounts would have a significantly negative impact on the millions we serve,” adding that they “continue to raise concerns with Barclays.”[6]

Unfortunately, Muslim charities who deposit their money in genocide banks have effectively trapped the Muslim community in a vicious dilemma. The more donations raised, the more capital genocide banks gain to invest in arms and apartheid; the stronger Zionism’s war machine becomes, the worse the genocide grows; and the worse the genocide, the more urgent the appeals for donations and the greater the duty on Muslim donors.

An Uncompromising Call to Action

Though Islamic Relief’s work is invaluable, the situation in Gaza demands better, and the parking of all of these millions in genocide banks is totally inexcusable. People of conscience across the globe are demanding:

1. Divestment from Barclays. Transfer all accounts and reserves including the estimated £160 million+ to banks that explicit prohibit arms investments of which there are many.[7] A few determined charities have already made the switch. For example, Ummah Welfare Trust in the UK now uses Al Rayan Bank, while Penny Appeal, moved its accounts to Unity Trust Bank.[8] These charities have proven that divesting from genocide banks is both possible and prudent, while continuing to thrive and winning community trust.

2. Commitment to the public. Announce a clear plan to complete the divestment within a fixed window (e.g., 90 days), and commit to a banking policy that screens partners for compliance to the charity’s values.

Donors are also encouraged to hold charities accountable to the values they claim to uphold. If a charity stubbornly refuses to move its money, Muslims should consider redirecting their donations to those that have. We, as a community, must rally behind charities that take the brave step of divestment while holding to account any that drag their feet. Mainstream banks cannot force us out of business unless we accept doing business with devils.

According to the Boycott Banks for Palestine campaign, while Islamic Relief holds the largest share of Muslim charitable funds parked in genocide banks, it is not alone. Other prominent Islamic charities also maintain significant reserves in Barclays or in similarly complicit banks implicated in financing Israel’s war machine.

These revelations are not meant to single out Islamic Relief for censure, but to highlight that if the largest Muslim NGO leads by example and severs ties with Barclays, it can trigger a sector-wide transformation and set a precedent that compels others to follow, eventually cleansing the entire sector of financial complicity in genocide.

The Prophet ﷺ taught:

“Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or oppressed. By preventing him from oppressing others.”[9]

Charity must be pure in means and ends. To the trustees of Islamic Relief, Human Appeal, Al-Khair, Salam Charity, National Zakat Foundation, and all other Muslim charities: withdraw your funds swiftly and decisively. Find banks that will allow you to live up to the values you promote. Muslims deserve to know that their Zakat, Sadaqah, and donations rest with institutions that uphold, not contradict a commitment to ending the genocide in Gaza.

---

References:

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/26/un-demands-investigations-into-gaza-hospital-killings

[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/barclays-attracts-fresh-anti-israel-protests-agm-2025-05-07/

[3] https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/328158

[4] https://www.change.org/p/stop-islamic-relief-from-banking-with-barclays-to-end-complicity-in-gaza-genocide

[5] http://ggec.org.uk/barclays/

[6] https://www.change.org/p/stop-islamic-relief-from-banking-with-barclays-to-end-complicity-in-gaza-genocide

[7] https://boycottbanksforpalestine.co.uk/about/take-action/

[8] https://boycottbanksforpalestine.co.uk/research/relief-charity-sector/

[9] Bukhari on the authority of Anas b. Malik rady Allahu ‘anhu