The hilarious breakdown of the Islamo-left alliance
The progressive left has suddenly noticed that most British Muslims are not exactly woke.
RAKIB EHSAN COLUMNIST
With growing tensions between socially conservative Muslims and progressive liberals, what is the future of their traditional alliance on the British left? If events of the past week are anything to go by, the answer appears to be that there isn’t one.
This uneasy marriage got a reality check last week when a Green Party councillor and practising Muslim, Mothin Ali, appeared reluctant to sign a set of ‘pledges’ on behalf of the LGBTQIA+ Greens, Feminist Greens and other similar groups. The MP for Blackburn, ‘Gaza Independent’ Adnan Hussain, then waded into the debate. ‘It’s no secret that Muslims tend to be socially conservative’, Hussain said. ‘Is there a space on the left to create a broad enough church to allow Muslims an authentic space, just as it does other minority groups?’
A lot rests on the answer to this question, at least for the electoral prospects of the Green Party. In recent years, its vote has been bolstered by Muslims, particularly young Muslims, who share the party’s views on economics and Palestine. In the darker and more ideologically dogmatic sections of this Muslim-Green alliance, anti-Jewish sentiment and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have taken root, too. A Times investigation last year found that around 20 prospective Green candidates at the last General Election had made disturbing statements about Israel, Hamas and the 7 October attacks.
The problem is that the two camps were never remotely aligned on other key issues. These include rights and protections for sexual minorities (such as same-sex marriage), the degree to which queer rights and queer theory should be taught in school, and the sanctity of life – both in terms of abortion and assisted dying. It is no secret that British Muslims are more conservative on these issues compared even with the general population, let alone the progressive left.
The British left could have seen these problems coming a mile off by looking across the Atlantic. That this relationship is fundamentally unstable was made clear in November when Donald Trump was re-elected. Michigan – home to America’s largest Muslim population and its only Muslim-majority city, Hamtramck – voted Republican. Exit polls recorded a surge in support for Trump among Muslims in the state. This came after Hamtramck’s city council – which is also majority Muslim – voted to ban the flying of Pride flags on city property in 2023.
For some time, the Democratic Party had complacently assumed that rising racial and religious diversity in America would play in its favour. But this theory of ‘demographic destiny’ has proved to be hugely flawed. Unsurprisingly, many Muslim voters found themselves much closer aligned with Republicans on issues such as gay marriage, abortion, euthanasia and trans rights.
Now, it seems that this divorce is about to happen in Britain. Socially conservative British Muslims should not expect progressive liberals to appease them. Nor should they be expected to sacrifice their values, rooted in their faith and cultural heritage, just to please the left.
Political marriages of convenience like this are a recipe for inept governance and confused priorities. The left and British Muslims were never natural allies – and both sides must now face up to this fact.
Rakib Ehsan is the author of Beyond Grievance: What the Left Gets Wrong about Ethnic Minorities, which is available to order
This article (The hilarious breakdown of the Islamo-left alliance) was created and published by Spiked Online and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Rakib Ehsan, Spiked Columnist
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.
Leave a Reply