
Political Islam is now a feature of British elections: Gaza is just the symptom, not the cause
Reform's strength now poses perhaps a greater threat to Labour even than to the Conservatives. Contained within Thursday's results, however, is another threat to the party – but one which, unlike the Reform surge, builds on a development evident since last year's general election. That threat is the rise of independent Muslim candidates on platforms designed to appeal to their fellow Muslims.
Last July showed the pattern when 'Gaza independent' MPs won in Leicester South, Blackburn, Birmingham Perry Barr and Dewsbury and Batley, after similar candidates had won two months earlier in local elections in Blackburn, Bradford and Oldham. That pattern was confirmed on Thursday.
In the general election Labour's vote fell by over 14 per cent from 2019 in constituencies where the Muslim population was above 15 per cent. Overall, 37 constituencies have a Muslim population of over 20 per cent, and in another 73 seats the Muslim population is between 10 and 20 per cent. Thursday's results demonstrate again that sectarian Muslim candidates can either win or secure enough votes in such seats to pose a real threat to Labour.
In Burnley Central East, for example, Maheen Kamran won with 38 per cent of the vote, beating Reform on 30 per cent. Labour trailed in third with just 14 per cent – down from 49 per cent in 2021. Ms Kamran says she wants 'segregated areas' to prevent 'free mixing' between men and women. She is joined on Lancashire County Council by her fellow independent Usman Arif from Burnley North East, who left Labour over the Gaza war.
Azhar Ali, dumped as Labour's candidate in last year's Rochdale by-election, won in Pendle. Ali was removed by Labour after he had been recorded making insinuations about 'certain Jewish quarters' in the media and had said Isael 'allowed' the October 7 Hamas massacre to happen to justify a war in Gaza.
It is no longer a prediction but a statement of fact that Britain has sectarian politics. The rise of Reform has led to much commentary about the shattering of political assumptions. But Reform merely challenges the existing party system. The emergence of sectarian politics challenges the foundations of our democratic norms. It is not so much identity politics as theocratic politics.
This is not some organic development in the wake of the Gaza war, in the narrative pushed by the independents, but rather a long-planned and well co-ordinated move to push Islamist politics into the mainstream. Gaza energised it and gave it cut through, but the real story is the creation of The Muslim Vote, an umbrella alliance of 24 activist groups which promotes and endorses selected candidates. The Muslim Vote has a long policy agenda, of which Israel and Gaza is merely one. Others – there are eighteen in all – include the legal adoption of a new definition of Islamophobia and reform of Ofcom's rules on extremism.
Labour's huge majority in 2024 masked how fragile many of its wins were, but Thursday's local elections have put the fear of God into Labour MPs. It is going to get worse. Next year there will be London-wide elections. Aspire (a de facto Bangladeshi party) already controls Tower Hamlets; last July Labour's Rushanara Ali clung on narrowly in Bethnal Green. Boroughs like Redbridge and Newham are also prime territory for sectarian candidates. Health Secretary Wes Streeting only just held his seat by 528 votes in July and in Birmingham, which will also vote, Jess Phillips scraped home by around 700 votes.
The insidious impact of sectarian politics is that MPs with small majorities will tack to embrace their demands to try to head off the threat – and thus start to act as sanitised advocates for Islamist ideas, pushing them into the mainstream and changing not just politics but our country itself.
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Daily Mail
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Scottish Sun
19 minutes ago
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The Sun
19 minutes ago
- The Sun
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A MAN accused in parliament of being a Hamas operative based in London was one of the organisers of Greta Thunberg's "Freedom Flotilla", it has emerged. Zaher Birawi, who has been photographed with slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was present at the launch of the British-flagged yacht Madleen. 7 7 7 7 As a Palestinian-British journalist, Mr Birawi is chair of the International Committee to Break the Siege of Gaza. He also runs a UK-registered charity called Education Aid for Palestinians, which has raised more than £3 million since 2017. Just a week ago, Mr Birawi was present at the launch of Madleen and live-streamed the event from a dock in Sicily. He called himself the 'founding member' of the Freedom Flotilla International Coalition - which arranged Madleen's voyage to Gaza. The 'selfie yacht' has now been seized by Israel, and all the people onboard have been detained. Labour MP Christian Wakeford named Mr Birawi in the Commons using special parliamentary protections that protect him from being sued. Mr Birawi said Mr Wakeford's claim was 'baseless' and that he was looking at 'all available legal recourse' in response to the MP's comments. According to Israel's strategic affairs ministry, Mr Birawi moved to the UK in the 1990s, has 'close ties to Hamas' and worked for several pro-Palestinian NGOs - including one tied to Hamas. In 2023, The Sun on Sunday revealed Mr Birawi lived in a £500,000 semi-detached house in leafy north London. MP for Bury South Mr Wakeford raised concerns over a 'serious national security risk' from 'Hamas operatives'. He told the Commons: '[Mr Birawi] was designated by Israel in 2013 as a senior Hamas operative in Europe. 'He is listed as a trustee of a UK-registered charity Education Aid for Palestinians, and a publicly available video shows him hosting a 2019 event in London titled 'Understanding Hamas'. 'Two weeks ago, Hamas launched the deadly terrorist attack the world has seen since 9/11. 'This House rightly voted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety in November 2021. It is therefore a serious national security risk for Hamas operatives to be living here in London." There is no suggestion that Mr Birawi was involved in the deadly October 7 terror attacks. He said: 'I have been made aware of the fact that the Member of Parliament for Bury South, Christian Wakefield, made a reference to my name in the proceedings of the House of Commons on October 26. 'Regrettably, this mention appears to have been motivated by an intent to besmirch my character and, potentially, to rationalise any harm that may befall me or my family. 'In a time when we should all exercise vigilance and contemplate the potential consequences of our words, particularly their capacity to incite violence and animosity, Mr Wakefield chose a contrary course of action. 'I wish to reaffirm that what the respected MP said about the accusation is baseless and that it is part of the distortion attempts undertaken by the occupying state to prevent activists supporting Palestinian rights from carrying out their duties in supporting the Palestinian human rights.' 7 7 7 Hamas has been proscribed as a terror group in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000 since 2021. Swedish eco warrior Greta, ten other activists and a journalist were on the Madleen when it left the Italian isle of Sicily last week. Israel accused the Freedom Flotilla Coalition of supporting Hamas terrorists. The 'selfie yacht' operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition was said to be "safely making its way to the shores of Israel", Israel's Foreign Minsitry said. All passengers were safe and unharmed and activists handed out sandwiches and water before the vessel docked at the southern Israeli port of Ashdod. The boat was carrying a "tiny amount of aid" on board - which will be sent to Gaza. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed the Israeli Defence Forces to screen footage of the 7 October attacks as soon as they arrive. The disturbing footage - titled "Bearing Witness" - shows innocent people being massacred and mutilated. And all the footage was taken from the Hamas terrorists' bodycams as they filmed their massacre. Hamas branded the interception of the yacht as a "crime of piracy". The group said in a statement that activists were on a "humanitarian mission aimed at breaking the siege on the Gaza Strip and exposing the crime of mass starvation." It added that Israel's action was "organised state terrorism, a clear violation of international law, and an attack on civilian volunteers motivated by humanitarian motives."