[A-List] UK state: alienation of muslims

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Labour has forfeited the Muslim vote

Blair has let us down over Iraq and will pay the price in June

Osama Saeed
Tuesday May 25, 2004
The Guardian

Never before have Muslims been so visible in taking their seat at the table
of British politics. Following 9/11, many thought that our role in this
country had come to a critical juncture, where the future was bleak. As the
following months and years have proved, this is not how it has turned out.

Where in the past the community had been defined by its ethnicity -
Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Arab - when the most difficult time for Muslims
came, this generation has defined itself by its religion. "Generation M" it
has been termed, describing those born and brought up here, claiming this
society as their own, but not needing to sell out on their faith. For
example, many believe the headscarf was imported from abroad. However, my
parents' generation did not wear it at all when they migrated here. We have
seen the rise of it during the 1990s as Muslims came more to the roots of
their faith, ditching the culture from abroad, and practising their religion
based on its core principles while being relevant to this society.

This was clearly witnessed during the attempt by the Muslim Association of
Britain along with the Stop the War Coalition and CND to stop the foolhardy
war in Iraq. The alliance between Muslims and the left in Britain has been a
significant phenomenon. Nothing can better illustrate the compatibility of
Islam and the west than the diversity of people marching side by side for
peace and justice.

This partnership with the left has replaced the Muslim community's
traditional association with the Labour party. After the start of the war,
the feeling among the Muslim community was that we had demonstrated, we had
lobbied, we had boycotted, and now it was time to use our votes. Labour was
shattered in September at the Brent East byelection, losing one of its
strongholds to the Lib Dems. It was no small coincidence that the
constituency houses thousands of Muslims, who saw their alternative not with
the pro-war Tories, but with an anti-war candidate.

This seismic shift away from Labour should not be underestimated. Bill
Miller and Asifa Hussain of Glasgow University showed in research released
last month that Muslim support for Labour was as high as 73% in the general
election of May 2001. By May 2003, at the Scottish elections, it collapsed
to 27%.

You do not need to be a WMD scientist to work out the reason for this. There
were high hopes for Tony Blair on his election in 1997. Muslims had invested
a lot in the Labour party over decades, and had felt frustrated,
particularly in foreign policy, by the Tories. For Blair to have lost the
Muslim community in such a short space of time is a remarkable achievement.

The results from Brent and the Scottish elections last year, where
Muslim-dominated polling stations like Glasgow Govan were two-to-one in
favour of the anti-war Scottish National party for the first time, are
indicative of a realignment taking place in the Muslim community. Where once
we voted Labour instinctively, our vote is now there for any party to win.

The future may also be more issue-led than party-led. The next stage of
Muslim development in Britain could be a strong diffusion among all the
parties, depending on current interests and tactical considerations. This
can be seen in MAB's voting recommendations for the June 10 elections, where
Labour's Ken Livingstone is backed for London mayor and depending where you
are in the country, you could be voting Respect, Green or Lib Dem for the
European parliament or your local council. In the former, George Galloway
will be enjoying major Muslim backing. So will Caroline Lucas of the Greens
in the south east, another anti-war campaigner who also performed admirably
when the hijab issue arose in France.

With large regions, low voter turnout and a PR system to work with, we are
likely to see the Muslim vote making a huge impact at the Euro polls. We are
also seeing credible, articulate and representative Muslim candidates coming
forward, not least Anas Altikriti, who stood down as MAB president to top
Respect's list in his home region Yorkshire. Only two Muslim MPs sit in
Westminster, when by proportion of population there should be around 20.
Parties are going to have to be imaginative to reach out to the generation
of talented young politically aware Muslims.

In the general election, expected next year, many Labour MPs will be heavily
affected by the Muslim vote, like Oona King and Mike Gapes. Of chief
interest will be Jack Straw in Blackburn, who couldn't have done more to
upset 12,000 of his constituents in the past few years.

These are the kind of debates to be heard among the legitimate Muslim voices
in Britain today. I'm glad to report that the naysayers after 9/11 were
proved wrong.
· Osama Saeed is a spokesperson for the Muslim Association of Britain