a A few months ago, Zara Mohammed, 33, general secretary of the Islamic Council of Britain (MCB), learned that the Ministry of Defense was ending its 12-year relationship with the organization.
The MCB, the UK’s largest Islamic umbrella body, has more than 500 members, including mosques, schools and charities, and acted as a referee for potential military imam chaplains.
“We have ministers in uniform from all religions and denominations. It’s really amazing,” Mohammed says. “They come to us and say, these imams have come forward, are they trustworthy in the community?” They’ll say yes or no.
“They canceled it because of the Daily Telegraph.” I wrote an article Moreover. [The MoD] The government has written a letter saying it cannot have any relationship with the Islamic Council of Britain. They didn’t justify it.
“It’s barking,” she added. “There is no replacement. We are the main representative body of trusted Muslims and there is no one, so they left a vacuum.”
Mohammed, MCB’s first female leader and by far its youngest, has been leading the organization since 2021. She is a Strathclyde University Law and Politics graduate, but the MCB has never paid its director general, so she provides consulting services on diversity issues. To pay the bills.
Raised in Glasgow, she is the eldest of four children of a second-generation Pakistani-British Muslim mother and Scottish-born father. She wonders why her mother would do this, Mohamed said. This nagging question feels especially relevant these past few days.
For more than a decade, the government has adopted a policy of “non-involvement” with the MCB. The reason is unclear.
A ministerial statement made in the House of Commons in February claimed that this was because “successive MCB leaders have taken positions that are contrary to our fundamental values, and these have not been unequivocally rescinded.” Ta.
This stems from the spat in 2009 when then Deputy Secretary-General Daoud Abdullah signed a document known as the Istanbul Declaration calling for attacks on the Royal Navy if it tried to stop Hamas arms smuggling into Gaza. This seems to be a reference to.
The Labor government at the time said it would have no further contact with the MCB unless Abdullah resigned and his sentiments were repudiated.
“But this is a bit of a misconception,” says Mohammed. “MCB condemned this and said this was something Daoud did in his personal capacity.” He subsequently resigned and MCB said “We did not stand by that statement.” Then the Labor Government worked with us again. ”
She says the current impasse is a mystery to the Conservative government, and it seems to be getting worse. The government recently announced that some Islamic organizations, which could include the MCB, could be listed as included in a new definition of “extremist” organizations, which would have no ties to Whitehall. He explained that there is.
A draft ministerial statement obtained by the Guardian shows Michael Gove considering naming the Islamic Society of Britain, Cage International, Muslim Engagement and Development, Five Pillars and (along with far-right group UK) Friends of Al-Aqsa. It suggests that it was. First, the British National Socialist Movement and the Patriotic Alternative).
“These groups of divisive forces within the Muslim community are causing real harm to the Muslim community,” Level Up was scheduled to tell MPs on Thursday.
It remains to be seen whether Mr Gove will name the organization, given the potential for legal challenges. MCB and other organizations are receiving legal advice regarding the possibility of judicial review of the government’s definition of extremism.
But for Muhammad, that’s largely beside the point. “I think we are very well suited as political punching bags and that is what we are seeing now. The Islamic Council of Britain is constantly being targeted. Demonizing Muslims I think there is an ongoing theme of doing so.
“There’s a systemic problem that we’re easily scapegoated in culture wars. It’s difficult because I’m a new leader and I don’t think like that, and I’m wondering why. What’s the problem? We represent so many Muslim communities, so it’s certainly great to engage with us. And the more we engage, the more we can work together. But you are isolating us and alienating us.”
MCB supports the NHS in providing advice to Muslim communities during the coronavirus pandemic and urges its umbrella organizations to be more aware of how they can contribute to addressing the climate emergency. I’m trying.
But since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, Mohammed said he has been constantly asked to prove he is not an extremist.
“I don’t represent Hamas or speak for Hamas. I represent British Muslims in a British organization,” she says. “Based on our beliefs, we condemn the killing of innocent civilians. That’s it. Why is my position any different?”
