The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a national umbrella body with over 500 mosques and educational and charitable associations affiliated to it. It includes national, regional, local, and specialist Muslim organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within major parts of, but not all, British Islamic society. Its vision statement is "empowering the Muslim community towards achieving a just, cohesive and successful British society". The MCB is founded upon three core concepts. The first is that it is independent: "core funding comes from membership fees". Secondly, it is cross-sectarian, meaning "members belong to Islam's diverse religious traditions." Finally, the MCB is democratic, in that its "leadership is elected for 2-year terms and is accountable to members". The current Secretary General is Zara Mohammed. It has been called the "best known and most powerful" of the many organisations that have been founded in the 1990s and 2000s to represent Britain's Muslims. Since 2009, the Labour Party, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition and the Conservative governments have maintained a policy of "non-engagement" with the Muslim Council of Britain due to allegations the group doesn't represent the British Muslim community and claims that members of the council have made 'favourable' remarks about extremists in the past. History At its first General Assembly, held on 1 March 1998, the MCB elected a Central Working Committee and office-bearers for the first time. The Secretary General from 1997 to 2006, Iqbal Sacranie, received a knighthood in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours for his longstanding service to the community and interfaith dialogue. The organisation has had a chequered history in its relationship with and recognition by the UK government since at least 2006. During the 2010–2015 Coalition government, the MCB met with a number of Liberal Democrat ministers, including the Minister for Communities, Stephen Williams, at the Department for Communities and Local Government in September 2014, the Energy Secretary Ed Davey in 2014, and the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Cabinet Office in September 2015. Funding The MCB's core administrative expenses are funded entirely by affiliation fees from members, as well as donations from individuals and grant-giving organisations. The MCB also runs projects to raise the capability of British Muslim communities and to widen good practice. All MCB projects self-fundraise through sponsorship, donations or grants, and MCB does not have a central 'pot' of money to fund internal or externally-led projects. In 2005,