Churches and mosques accused of 'promoting misogyny while taking public money' in new national report

The report detailed examples of an imam who told his mosque that men are allowed to abuse their wives if they refuse to have sex.

Another Islamic leader in the UK said women who wear make-up were "destroyed" and a sermon questioned publicly if wives should be allowed to work.

The NSS has called for a change in the law to prevent religious organisations that promote misogyny from having a charitable status.

An-Noor Masjid and a community centre in Birmingham were examples used in the report.

Mahamed Abdur Razaq, a lecturer at the centre, made the claim that men could beat their wives.

The Charity Commission suspended him from speaking at further engagement, but he was hosted numerous times at Green Lanes mosque after the incident.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Car ploughs into 'brawling mob of knifemen' outside central London mosque
• Locals left outraged as multi-million pound 'mega Mosque' gets green light despite mass protest: 'We have been ignored!'
• Mosque proudly flies Union Jack from window after making discovery 'intended to cause offence'

The report noted multiple cases of sexist attitudes from churches and Christian organisations, which include a baptist saying a wife should "submit to her leadership".

Rosyth Baptist Church in Fife posted a video on YouTube of a pastor citing scripture saying "a husband is the head of his wife".

Head of campaigns at NSS and author of the report, Megan Manson, told The Times: "While religious groups should be free to advance their faith, their charitable status gives them access to extensive tax benefits, which in these cases amounts to indirect state support of misogyny through public money."

Muslim charities outweighed Christian ones in the report, with 12 reports involving Muslim ones, compared to nine involving Christians.

A spokesman for An-Noor Masjid and the community centre said: "An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre submitted a full report on this matter to the Charity Commission over a year ago.

"The issue has been fully addressed and resolved.

"Our charity provides vital support to the wider community, plays a crucial role in strengthening social cohesion, and fosters compassion across society.

"We remain fully committed to complying with all UK laws and regulations."

Mrs Manson blamed religion for the behaviour, saying it is used to "justify misogyny".

She said: "While religious groups should be free to advance their faith, their charitable status gives them access to extensive tax benefits, which in these cases amounts to indirect state support of misogyny through public money.

"Yet charity regulators appear unable to tackle this, and we can conclude that the presence of 'the advancement of religion' in the list of recognised charitable purposes is a principal barrier.

"The Government's initiatives to tackle misogyny are welcome, but they are doomed to fail if we cannot root out misogyny from the charity sector."