Amidst the raging Israel-Hamas war, Muslim vote bank politics has intensified in the United Kingdom. An Islamist umbrella outfit named the “Muslim vote” group has asked the UK’s principal opposition party, the Labour Party, to apologise to the Muslim community for their stance on the Middle East crisis. The group has threatened to “punish” those MPs who didn’t back a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, that is, those who didn’t put pressure on Israel to stop its retaliation in response to the 7th October 2023 Hamas terror attack. Strikingly, the Islamists supported the 7th October attack and to date continue to defend it as “resistance”.
Additionally, the Muslim vote group has asked Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, to accept their 18 demands if they want to win back Muslim voters lost because of their stance on Israel’s attack on Gaza. These controversial demands include ending Britain’s military ties with Israel, recognising the state of Palestine, Sharia-compliant pensions for Muslims, and depositing 7% of local government pension scheme/public sector pensions to Islamic funds among others.
Incidentally, the Islamist umbrella outfit issued this list after Starmer promised to win back the trust of voters who felt he didn’t support Palestine enough. His remarks are seen as an outreach by the Labour Party to Muslims as its 12 candidates lost councillors election to Independents or other party’s Pro-Palestine individuals. As per The Daily Mail, more than 40 pro-Palestinian candidates won seats as councillors in England, alluding to the fact that Muslim vote bank politics and the Gaza issue have started to dictate the UK’s politics. Mayors of several cities and towns in the United Kingdom are Muslims.
‘Muslim Vote’ bank on the recent success of Muslim Councillors who ran on Pro-Palestine issue
The ‘Muslim vote’ which is supported by several controversial organisations, submitted a list of 18 demands to Keir Starmer asserting that if the demands are not met, its supporters (Muslims) would vote for the Greens or Liberal Democrat Party.
Here is the list of all the 18 demands that have been issued –
1. Labour Party should apologise for their comments greenlighting a so-called genocide and for not backing the ceasefire in Oct/Nov 2023.
2. Put sanctions on companies that operate in “occupied territories”, and sanctions on “settlers”, terms used in the Islamic world for Israeli citizens living in these territories in the West Bank
3. Recognise Palestine as a state
4. Put a travel ban on all Israeli politicians who prosecuted this war and supported the “illegal occupation”
5. End the UK’s military ties with Israel
6. Give directives that Muslims are allowed to pray at school
7. Implement findings of people’s review of Prevent — not Shawcross
8. Remove the definition of “extremism” that UK’s Minister Michael Gove introduced
9. Commit to full implementation of the Royal Charter regarding media regulation
10. Adopt the APPG definition of Islamophobia
11. Commit to a review of public sector equality duty
12. Increase council and public health funding for the 10% most deprived areas in the country
13. Deliver alternative student finance
14. Ensure Sharia-compliant pensions are available at every workplace
15. Ensure insurance rates don’t cost more for someone called “Muhammad”
16. Commit 7% of the local government pension scheme/public sector pensions to ethical and Islamic funds
17. Oppose the BDS [ Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions ] bill and remove the law. This law puts a ban on anti-Israel protests that call for BDS which is an acronym voicing for reducing financial ties with Israel
18. Remove the archaic “spiritual influence” offence from the statute
The development comes immediately after dozens of council candidates defeated the UK’s top two parties Labour and Conservatives by campaigning on the issue of Gaza. Some of these councillors wore badges with the colours of the Palestinian flag, and others said their victories were for the people of Gaza. These councillor elections have prompted Starmer to woo Muslim voters and bring them back, at any cost.
Earlier, Starmer’s leadership faced a major jolt in November, last year, as ten of his top team members quit alleging that he didn’t call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
It is pertinent to note that the majority of the recently elected Councillors who campaigned on the issue of Gaza belong to the Muslim faith and they have been controversial for their antisemitic stance and supporting Islamists.
One of the councillors is Mothin Ali who won in Leeds on the Green Party ticket. After getting elected, he raised slogans of ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ and gave a Pro-Palestine speech, the video of which went viral on social media. Earlier, on 7th October 2023, the day when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, he stated that Palestinians had the right to “fight back”. While the Green Party had said that they would investigate his comments and did not support violence, he has now been elected on the Green Party’s ticket on Pro-Palestine issues.
Similarly, a video of Tiger Patel went viral after he won as an independent in Blackburn, Lancashire. In the viral video, the former Conservative councillor Patel wore a keffiyeh, the scarf symbolic of Palestine, and dedicated his victory to the people of Palestine. As per reports, he was earlier suspended from the conservative party after he made inappropriate anti-Israel remarks at a march last year, a charge which he denies.
Who controls the ‘Muslim Vote’ and entities within it
The Muslim Vote describes itself as a “broad community campaign” and “loose collective” but does not name individual leaders, nor its source of funding, on its website, leaving concerns for British people that someone else might be pulling their strings.
According to the Islamist outfit, it is supported by two dozen organisations including mend [Muslim Engagement & Development]. In March, UK’s Communities Minister, Michael Gove named mend and four other groups that could likely be categorised as Extremist outfits as they violate the definition of extremism as per his new bill. Defending itself, the mend said that it is an organisation that “absolutely does not fit any extremism definition that is at all fair”.
Another supporter of the Muslim Vote is the Muslim Association of Britain which was also named by Gove as falling in the category of ‘Extremist outfit’ while the group has rejected this categorisation. Other supporters of Muslim Vote include Prevent Watch, which opposes the government’s counter-extremism strategy.
Nonetheless, the Muslim Vote said it was focused on seats where the Muslim vote can influence the outcome.
Muslim vote and Gaza issue to redefine politics as well as narrative in the UK
Top leaders of the ruling Conservative Party (Tories) expressed concerns that the councillor elections might lead to town halls being filled with discussions about foreign affairs instead of focusing on local services.
Ex-Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said, “People are entitled to their views, but foreign affairs is a matter for the House of Commons, not local councils. This is a consequence of the Left’s attempt to segment society and create a coalition of minorities rather than a unified whole. This is very divisive for the country at large.”
He added, “I find it disturbing when you have people standing for election not because they care about making a contribution to building a better Britain, but because they are more interested in events overseas.”
Tory candidate and UK PM’s Former chief of staff Nick Timothy said, “It worries people when politicians shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ about a foreign war in a British local election meant for deciding who picks up the bins.”
Pertinent to note that these local elections were the first time that more than 40 pro-Palestine candidates won councillors elections, especially in regions like the North West with a sizeable Muslim population. This has made some people worry that British politics is getting more divided, reported the Daily Mail.
Apart from the ruling conservative party, the Muslim Vote has led to a cause for concern for the leftist Labour Party as well. In the past, it courted controversies for going soft/whitewashing issues like Islamic extremism/terrorism, Grooming gangs, anti-Semitism, anti-India/anti-Hindu remarks, illegal immigration, pandering to Muslim minorities, and not cracking down on street violence in the garb of politics of so-called Liberal, secular, and pluralistic values.
However, the victories of dozens of controversial Pro-Palestine candidates as Independent and on other party tickets have emboldened the “Muslim vote” group to not just issue 18 demands but also ask the principal opposition, which is predicted to be ahead in the opinion polls, to issue a public apology.
The Muslim population has grown in Britain and as per the figures released by the Office of National Statistics, more than 3.9 million people in Britain identified as Muslim last year.