The attempt to drive Islamists and young Asian activists out of the political mainstream is a dangerous folly, says Seumas Milne.
Yearly Archives: 2010
Did the ‘war on terror’ damage Muslims’ support for Labour?
Yesterday’s Comment is Free featured a piece by Nick Spencer on “Muslim voters’ loyalty to Labour” which made the following bizarre claim:
“The Iraq war was supposed to have poisoned Labour’s relations with British Muslims. Tony Blair’s apparently unqualified support for a bellicose Republican administration despised around the Muslim world was deeply unpalatable. Years of anti-terror legislation were judged by some to have stigmatised Muslims and fanned Islamophobic flames. The government’s attempt to outlaw religious hate speech was seen, by sceptics at least, as simply a desperate, ill-thought through peace offering with which they might woo disaffected Muslim supporters.
“According to new Theos/ComRes research, however, no wooing is necessary. If there were a general election tomorrow, 35% of voting Muslims (meaning those Muslims who claim they are more likely than not to vote) would vote Labour.”
Spencer does not provide earlier figures that would allow us to determine whether Muslims’ support for Labour has risen or fallen. He would have been advised to consult a Guardian/ICM poll from November 2004 which showed a dramatic decline in the number of Muslims who said they would vote Labour compared with the period before the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The Guardian reported at the time:
“The Guardian/ICM poll confirms that political support for Labour has halved since the 2001 general election and the Liberal Democrats have emerged as the leading political party within the Muslim community.
“The role of Britain in the Iraq war and Tony Blair’s strong support for the war on terror which is widely seen by the Muslim community to be an attack on Islam, has undoubtedly played a part in eroding Labour’s support among British Muslims. In the 2001 general election it is believed that 75% of those who voted backed Labour.
“The voting intention figures in this poll show that support in the Muslim community for the government is slipping away fast. In March, ICM recorded Labour support at 38% and it has now fallen a further six points to 32% of Muslim voters.”
And now the Theos/ComRes poll shows that 35% of Muslims would vote Labour. What that statistic quite clearly demonstrates is that Labour has failed to win back most of those Muslim voters who abandoned it in response to the government’s support for the “war on terror”.
A parliamentary inquiry into Islamophobia is needed
Osama Saeed, SNP parliamentary candidate for Glasgow Central makes the following commitment:
“I will … if elected this year, work across the House of Commons to establish an all-party inquiry into Islamophobia. We have precedent in this from the similar committee looking into anti-semitism which examined the causes and made recommendations on the way forward. Rigourous investigation needs to be brought to the phenomenon of Islamophobia to stop the hate spiralling further in the tough years to come.”
Double standards on terror counterproductive says CAIR
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), along with other national Muslim organizations, today held a news conference in Washington, D.C., to express concerns over a perceived double standard on the use of the label “terrorism” as it relates to acts of political violence committed by people who are not Muslims.
CAIR’s news conference was prompted by coverage of last week’s politically-motivated airborne suicide attack on an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office in Austin, Texas, which the Muslim civil rights and advocacy group called an act of “terror.”
In a statement read at today’s Capitol Hill event, CAIR Legal Counsel Nadhira Al-Khalili said:
“American law defines ‘terrorism’ as ‘premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets’ or as ‘the unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.’
“When an act that fits these definitions is carried out by a Muslim individual or group, there is and should be no hesitation in labeling that act ‘terrorism.’
“Regrettably, when an act fitting the legal definitions of terrorism is carried out by someone who is not Muslim, there seems to be a general reluctance on the part of commentators, public officials and law enforcement agencies to use the term.
“Last week’s attack on the IRS office in Texas perfectly fits either legal definition of terrorism, yet it has not been labeled as such. This apparent double standard only serves to render the term ‘terrorism’ meaningless and imbues it with a sense of religious and ethnic bias that is both counterproductive and offensive.”
‘Gigantic mosque’ poses threat to Sandhurst cadets
Generals are trying to block plans to build a mosque with two 100ft minarets next to Sandhurst. The £3million building would have a clear view over the military academy and is just 400 yards from its parade ground.
Senior officers oppose the project saying it could pose a security threat to cadets. Yesterday an Army source said: ‘This has gone right to the top of the chain of command. There is very real concern that if this thing gets built then soldiers could be put at risk. It is outrageous to even think that the officers of the future would have to watch their backs while they are still in training.”