Outgoing Muslim Council leader criticizes lack of government contact

When Zara Mohammed became the first female leader of one of the largest representative bodies of British Muslims in 2021, she already had a lot to deal with: rising Islamophobia, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a government refusing to engage with the group.

The then 29-year-old could not have imagined that three years later, she would be facing one of the biggest challenges of her career – riots across England and Northern Ireland, often explicitly targeting Muslims, and yet Also no official contact.

Violent unrest sparked by false rumors Southport knife attack victim was a Muslim asylum seekerBricks were thrown at mosques and Islamophobic slogans were raised in the streets.

Many Muslims and people of color felt afraid to leave their homes.

“It was horrific. We were watching on our screens: people breaking doors, stopping cars, attacking taxi drivers, breaking windows, tearing down mosques,” he told the BBC. ” “The kind of evil we saw was really horrifying and I felt like, am I making a difference?”

As Ms Mohammed ended her time as secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain – on Saturday, Dr Wajid Akhtar was chosen as her replacement – ​​she spoke to the BBC about the difficulties she has faced .

In particular, he described an “incredible tidal wave of Islamophobia” in Britain, which he said has become more difficult to deal with due to the government’s ongoing policy of non-engagement.

“It was the Southport riots for us that made it really quite worrying. The justification was there, the urgency was there, there was a need for engagement, British Muslims were under attack, mosques were under attack and not the largest Muslim organization “Talked to Tha,” she said.

The strain in relations between successive governments and the MCB began a decade ago. Relations with the MCB were severed in 2009 under then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown after the group’s deputy leader signed a manifesto advocating attacks on the Royal Navy if it tried to intercept arms for Hamas. The military wing of Hamas was banned as a terrorist group in Britain eight years ago.

The deputy secretary later resigned and Ms Mohammed said the MCB had made it clear that such actions did not reflect the organisation, which led to a brief re-engagement.

However, under successive governments, that association was again broken. In 2018, when asked about Islamophobia in the Conservative Party, then Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that the government did not engage with the MCB because “too many of their members have made favorable comments on extremists and that is not acceptable” – MCB’s claims were strongly refuted by Time.

For Ms Mohammed, there were hopes that engagement would resume when Labor came into government last year as she described “strong” and “positive” relationships with Labor MPs. However, the policy of non-engagement has continued without any explanation.

He said it was having a “terrible impact” on communities who “don’t believe Islamophobia is being taken seriously”. “At least have a conversation about it, but don’t say anything and don’t tell us why? Certainly that can’t justify what happened 14 years ago.

He said, “What is the issue now? We are not illegal, we are not banned. We do not espouse any extremist views. We have a broad-based demographic of British Muslims.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed that there was no change in the policy of non-engagement with MCB, but did not explain the reason.

“Religious and racial hatred of all forms has no place in our society,” the spokesperson said. “The government regularly engages with religious communities to help foster stronger working relationships and we are exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling racial and religious hatred, including Islamophobia.”

various government departments Connect with faith organizations To discuss relevant issues and policy, including tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and hate crime.

The rise in Islamophobia has personally affected Ms Mohammed, who often faces online abuse. She was also the victim of a hate incident on the London Underground by a man who used offensive language.

“I certainly fear for my personal safety more than ever,” he said. “My account has been attacked with far-right, sleazy, anti-Islamic, quite disgusting, really horrific graphic content.”

National monitoring group Tell Mama UK recorded 4,971 incidents of anti-Muslim hate in the year following Hamas attacks on Israel – the most in 14 years – with Muslim women being particularly vulnerable.

Challenged on whether the MCB had done enough to support communities, especially without government involvement, Ms Mohammed said the organization had launched interfaith projects, including an Islamophobia program to address anti-Muslim hatred. Has done a lot of “community building” and “political advocacy”. In Parliament and visit my mosque first.

However, he said this did not change mainstream narratives about British Muslims. “Islamophobic rhetoric has been so normalized without any challenge or condemnation.”

“We may say we are making a difference, but what we are seeing in the national conversation is not translating into that,” he said.

Ms Mohammed identified this as part of a wider trend of hostility towards Muslim politicians and leaders, drawing attention to former Conservative MP Lee Anderson saying that “Islamists” had “taken control” of the Mayor of London.

Sadiq Khan condemned the comment as “adding fuel to the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”.

As more Muslim professionals and politicians rise to new heights, Hamza Yusuf Scottish First Minister and Sir Sadiq became being made a knight“They faced disgusting levels of Islamophobia that others never faced,” Ms Mohammed said.

There was also a BBC Woman’s Hour interview with Ms Mohammed Accused of being “blatantly hostile” More than 100 politicians, writers and other prominent figures criticized Ms Mohammed’s “misbehavior” on the show. The BBC said it promised to “reflect” on the concerns raised after the interview.

These ongoing challenges have left Ms. Mohammed confused about her legacy.

“You’re constantly struggling. Did we make the lives of British Muslims better? On the one hand, yes, because we raised these issues, we took them to a national stage. But with Islamophobia, we’re still having the same conversation. Have been.

“We still haven’t recovered from this, whether it’s government engagement, Islamophobia, social mobility,” he said.

“My happiest achievement is that I have visited more than 300 organizations across the country,” he said.

“Whether it was Swansea, Newport, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, I really made sure that wherever I went I met women’s groups, and I always reassured them that they had a voice and a leader at the table.”

The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment.