In his recent speech to the Annual General Meeting of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) Conference held on the 10th May 2009, Sadiq Khan MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, made extensive reference to research work carried out by BMG Research for the Charity Commission.

The research comprised a national survey of mosques, conducted by telephone, and was the most comprehensive of its type carried out in the UK. The relevant section from his speech reads as follows:

"Research into British mosques that the Charity Commission released earlier this year gave a good insight of the current shape of the UK's mosques. Almost all the mosques they interviewed educate young people. Four in five raise money to help the poor and vulnerable. Most have women's groups. Many more get involved in sport, health, or services for older people. This is what Islam truly means in practice for the vast majority: A personal and spiritual faith matched by a sense of social responsibility, motivating people to do good for their neighbourhood and community."

The full text of the speech can be found at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/speeches/corporate/minab2009, the Charity Commission's description of the research is at: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/news/fscumosque.asp, and the research report itself can be found at: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Library/tcc/pdfs/fscumosque.pdf