In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salÄmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullÄhi wa-barakÄtuh
MEND has done a fantastic job summarising some of the key issues relevant and pertinent to Muslims.
Key Policy Concerns for Muslims :
- Islamophobia and Racial/Religious Equality: We have drawn attention to the pervasive character of Islamophobia amongst certain elements within the UK and argue for the immediate need to tackle inadequate legislation on racial and religious hate crime.
- Youth and Education: In terms of youth and education, the Muslim population in Britain is increasingly made up of young people – according to the 2011 census, 33% of Muslims in Britain are aged 15 or under.
- Employment: Muslims experience a significant level of disadvantage in the labour market.They are discriminated against during the recruitment process, as well as in the workplace environment, and are frequently victims of frustrated ambitions as they are under-represented in the higher positions within their professions.
- Integration and Community Cohesion: The overwhelmingly negative portrayal of Muslims within the media is detrimental to any integration strategy based on creating and maintaining“common ground”.
- Minority Rights: This manifesto outlines the policy issues pertaining to minority rights and the right to freedom of religion - and religious practice particularly - that dominate public debate.
- Counter-terrorism and Civil Liberties: The Government has continued to implement counter-terrorism legislation which disproportionately impacts Muslim communities, with the statutory Prevent duty having a particularly detrimental impact on young British Muslims.
- Crime and Policing: The disproportionate use of stop and search and Schedule 7 powers on minority communities continues to leave its impact.
- International Affairs and Human Rights Promotion Abroad: Regarding Britain’s foreign and international policy Muslim countries have regrettably consistently been in the spotlight since 2001.
Key Pledges for Muslims :
- Commit to proactively engage with a broad and representative spectrum of the British Muslim community.
- Commit to preserving the Human Rights Act and the protection of minority rights including rights to religious slaughter, circumcision and wearing of religious dress or symbols.
- Commit to tackling religious discrimination in the workplace and address the low level of economic activity among Muslims through targeted interventions at stages of recruitment, retention and promotion; improving access to employment for British Muslim women
- Commit to developing teaching materials to educate young people on Islamophobia, racism, and antisemitism; to prioritise religious education in the national curriculum to prepare young people for life in a religiously plural society.
- Commit to supporting faith school provisions in the state sector for Muslim pupils and parents; support ‘twinning’ of faith and non-faith schools to encourage cultural exchange between pupils of different racial, religious, ethnic and other backgrounds.
- Commit to media reform and the full implementation of the Royal Charter on a Leveson compliant regulator; support industry initiatives to promote positive, diverse representations of Muslims and minorities in the mainstream media.
- Commit to repealing the current statutory Prevent duty, and replacing this with a more effective, evidence based and non-discriminatory counter-terrorism strategy by engaging with Muslim communities.
- Commit to curbing the encroachment of counter-terrorism policies on civil liberties by reviewing all counter-terrorism legislation enacted since 2000.
- Commit to tackling the high number of Muslim prisoners through schemes to facilitate rehabilitation, cut re-offending and develop pathways for social inclusion.Commit to support the creation of an independent state of Palestine and the end to Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
- Commit to a review of the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act as advised by the Law Commission’s “Hate crime: the case for extending the existing offences” report and introduce legislation to extend legal protection to cover religion, homophobia and disability hate crime.
Tactical Voting:
Another option being discussed amongst Muslims is tactical voting to STOP the Tories from going through with Hard Brexit. Tactical voting is being suggested for this purpose, two website which can help with it are:
What are your thoughts on these elections?
Jazakallahu Khayran