Our History

Al-Khair Foundation is a leading Muslim faith-based UK charity providing emergency relief and developmental support in some of the world's most impoverished areas. Established in 2003, Al-Khair Foundation was born from a dream which Imam Qasim Rashid Ahmad had to create a holistic Islamic school. Initially operating out of a small residential living room, the Al-Khair School had just 5 students.

As the Foundation grew, it remained close to its roots of education; schools were established in rural communities of Pakistan to provide quality education to orphans and underprivileged children, and this ultimately inspired the creation of our ongoing Orphans and Widows programme.

A significant milestone in Al-Khair's journey was in 2005, when we expanded into emergency relief work. We were amongst the first on the ground providing food, water, shelter and medication in the immediate aftermath of the Kashmir and Haiti earthquakes. Our work in Haiti even attracted the attention of the United Nations, who then partnered with Al-Khair Foundation to strengthen the collective relief effort in the country.

A few years later, Imam Qasim established IQRA TV with the objective of providing religious and educational content to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. This ended up being an incredible asset to Al-Khair Foundation; the ease of access to a free-to-air channel enabled us to greatly increase our exposure and thereby attract more support.

Over the years, Al-Khair Foundation has steadily grown into what it is today – one of the youngest yet most successful Muslim charities in the UK. From distributing food parcels and hand-operated water pump to teaching farming techniques and implementing solar powered water wells, our aid delivery has advanced tremendously. On top of our continued emergency relief activities, we now focus on designing projects that equip communities with the right skills and education to lift themselves out of poverty. This, in turn, ensures that our beneficiaries are able to sustain their own livelihoods in a dignified manner, and without dependence on aid.

At Al-Khair Foundation we are proud of our track record – to date, we have touched the lives of over 50 million people from varying backgrounds. As such a multifaceted organisation, we have had a unique history and look forward to what the future will bring.