In a foreboding sign of the future that likely awaits the United Kingdom, Muslim activists have issued a series of 18 demands to the Labour Party after dozens of local council seats were won by candidates who ran on the single issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While the left-wing Labour Party was the clear victor of Thursday’s local elections in Britain, it saw many races in typical strongholds flip to independent candidates bringing their sectarian message to the Muslim community. Such was the scale of the defections, that Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement to British Muslims: “I am determined to meet your concerns and to gain your respect and trust again in the future.”
Sensing blood in the water, a group called Muslim Vote, which claims to have 24 Islamic organisations in the UK behind it, issued a list of 18 demands to the Labour Party if it wants to count on the support of one of its key voting blocs in the upcoming general election, in which Labour hopes to return to power after being relegated to the opposition benches for 14 years.
Commenting on the shift in politics in Britain to focus on issues once considered fringe, Brexit leader Nigel Farage said on Monday evening: “When people come in large numbers, they bring their culture with them. What we are witnessing with this sectarian politics, is an attempt to take over councils and win seats in the British Parliament.”
Addressing the demands from Muslim Vote, Farage added: “If Keir Starmer met 18 of those demands, they will come back with 18 more”.
At least two of the groups backing the effort, the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend), are reportedly under investigation over alleged extremism. Coincidentally, one of the demands issued by Muslim Vote was for Labour to commit to scrapping the expanded definition of extremism put forward by cabinet minister Michael Gove earlier this year, which the two groups are said to be under investigation for.
Muslim Vote called on Starmer to personally apologise for “greenlighting a genocide and for not backing the ceasefire” in the initial months following the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel which left over 1,200 people dead and hundreds more taken captive.
The group also called on Labour to commit to recognising Palestine as a state and to impose sanctions on Israeli companies and settlers. Muslim vote also demanded that Labour vow to cut all military ties with Israel and to impose a travel ban on “all Israeli politicians that prosecuted this war and support illegal occupation.”
Turning towards domestic issues in Britain, the group called for guidance to be issued allowing Islamic prayers in British schools and for the overturning of a prohibition against religious leaders telling their congregation how to vote in places of worship, a long-established rule in the British constitution. They also pushed for Labour to commit seven per cent of public sector and local government pensions be directed toward “ethical and Islamic funds”.
On its website, Muslim Vote stated: “This election signals a shift for Muslims – no more political apathy. We will no longer tolerate being taken for granted. We are a powerful, united force of 4 million acting in unison.
“We are focused on seats where the Muslim vote can influence the outcome. We are here for the long term. In 2024, we will lay the foundations for our community’s political future… We are not just a movement of talk. We mean business.”
It comes as many candidates successfully convinced local Muslim populations to abandon the Labour Party by running on a pro-Gaza ticket, including a Green Party councillor who shouted out “Allahu Akbar” with supporters after winning a seat in Leeds.
Meanwhile, following the example of leftist student activists in the United States at Colombia and Harvard, as well as French students at the Sorbonne and Sciences Po, students at Oxford and Cambridge erected tent encampments on Monday to protest against Israel.
At Oxford, students demanded for the university to “divest from Israeli genocide, apartheid and occupation”, to “boycott Israeli genocide, apartheid and occupation”, to “stop banking with Barclays”, to “disclose all finances” and to commit funding to improve the education system in Gaza. At Cambridge, students said that they were protesting the university because it “supports Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza”.
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