This is a guest post by al-Qanaas al-Masri
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The City Circle, a “moderate” Muslim group headed by Rabia Malik, sent out an email yesterday announcing that in July it will hold an event to celebrate the group’s 10 year anniversary. It says that:
The City Circle has been a unique experiment in creating an indigenous, independent and inclusive space for Muslim and non-Muslim communities to critically debate issues that concern them and to harness professionals’ skills back into helping local communities.
Independent? Really?
For the last two years, many of City Circle’s events have been quietly organised by and co-hosted with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a Saudi-backed, US-based Islamist organisation that also has a branch in London. City Circle has not openly advertised this collaboration and the details of the eleven joint events held between the two organisations to date are only available on the website of the IIIT.