{"id":479,"date":"2009-12-07T11:40:03","date_gmt":"2009-12-07T11:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/2009\/12\/07\/another-huge-blow-to-bunglawala-s-credibility\/"},"modified":"2009-12-07T11:40:03","modified_gmt":"2009-12-07T11:40:03","slug":"another-huge-blow-to-bunglawala-s-credibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/2009\/12\/07\/another-huge-blow-to-bunglawala-s-credibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Huge Blow to Bunglawala’s Credibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY ALEXANDER MELEAGROU-HITCHENS <\/strong><\/p>\n

In a Parliamentary committee room last week, I witnessed the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Mohammed Abdul Bari, present evidence at a Communities and Local Government (CLG) hearing<\/a> about the effectiveness of the Prevent agenda.\u00a0 As well as being reminded of just how little this man and his organisation had to offer to such a complex debate, I was also struck that CLG still sought their opinion.\u00a0 Three days after the hearing, Martin Bright gave us yet more evidence<\/a> about the unpleasant nature of the MCB.<\/p>\n

What should have been the final nail in the coffin of the MCB\/CLG relationship was the role that the MCB deputy secretary general, Daud Abdullah, played in the formation of the Istanbul Statement.\u00a0 Covered in the May issue of Standpoint<\/em>, this statement was not only in support of violent jihad against Israel, but specifically against <\/em>any peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.\u00a0 Hazel Blears, the then Communities secretary, pledged to sever all ties with the MCB until Adbullah either denounced the statement or resigned.\u00a0 Neither happened, and the MCB found itself out in the cold.<\/p>\n

Since then, they have shown an amazing resilience, and have managed to not only politically outlive Blears, but also position themselves back in the favour of the government.\u00a0 At the forefront of this repositioning has been their spokesman, Inayat Bunglawala, who, since the appointment of John Denham as Blears\u2019 replacement, has written a number of articles which supposedly indicate the both his and the MCB\u2019s new found moderation.\u00a0 In an interview<\/a> with the Jewish Chronicle<\/em>, Denham was careful to condemn the Istanbul statement, but also gave strong suggestions that the door was nonetheless still open for the MCB.\u00a0 Denham\u2019s deputy, Shahid Malik, swiftly backed this up<\/a> in the Guardian<\/em>.\u00a0 Writing in support of Prevent, he quoted Bunglawala favourably, presenting him as a possibly eligible benefactor of government funding. <\/p>\n

Among the examples which are cited as evidence of Bunglawala\u2019s moderation is an article<\/a> he wrote on the 5th<\/sup> of October for the Guardian\u2019s<\/em> Comment is Free blog, in which he called for the MCB to take the lead in teaching tolerance and acceptance of gay Muslims, telling us that \u201cdiscrimination based on sexuality is wrong.\u201d\u00a0 Indeed, I was well aware that homosexuals deserved equal rights when I was a schoolchild and Bunglawala was still writing in support of Osama bin Laden (a position he has since recanted). I also find it mildly insulting that I or most readers of the Guardian<\/em> should be preached to about gay rights by a man who still supports a preacher (Yusuf al-Qaradawi) who would have all homosexuals killed if he was given half a chance. \u00a0\u00a0It is no coincidence that Bunglawala decided to write such fluff pieces at a time when he and his organisation are at their weakest:\u00a0 he has realised that they lost round one and is now trying to win favour with the government again on the back of disingenuous liberal comments.<\/p>\n

Strangely overlooked at the time was an article<\/a> he published the same day<\/em> on the Muslim Brotherhood\u2019s media portal IslamOnline , entitled \u2018British Jews\u2019 Influence on UK Policy\u2019.\u00a0 As well as referencing Marsheimer and Walt\u2019s widely discredited \u2018The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy\u2019, Bunglawala refutes the very concept of Islamism, claiming instead that it is a term used to denigrate \u201call politically engaged and active Muslims\u201d.<\/p>\n

In late October, Bunglawala saw a chance to position the MCB as the voice of Muslims against extremism when the maniacal and overtly extremist al-Muhajiroun announced their \u2018March for Sharia\u2019: a procession through central London calling for the immediate implementation of Sharia law in the UK.\u00a0 Bunglawala announced that he was organising a counter protest, Muslims4UK, which was to meet the procession as it passed through Piccadilly Circus.\u00a0 Unbeknownst to him, such a Muslim counter-protest was already being organised by a group called British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD).\u00a0 One of its leaders, Shaaz Mahboob, wrote the next day<\/a> that he would welcome joining forces with Bunglawala in order to show a united Muslim voice against the madness of al-Muhajiroun.\u00a0 He received no response, and three days later, rather than accepting the BMSD olive branch, Martin Bright has now revealed<\/a> that Bunglawala moved to discredit the commendable BMSD initiative \u2013 likely seeing it as a threat to his self appointed role as spokesman for the UK\u2019s Muslims.\u00a0 In an email sent to his supporters three days after the BMSD offer, Bunglawala sought to call into question their \u2018Islamic credentials\u2019:<\/p>\n

\n

I have received some emails from people concerned that British Muslims for Secular Democracy (whose chair opposes the wearing of the hijab, openly admits to drinking alcohol etc) are also demonstrating. Muslims4UK will be completely separate from them and will have our own area and banners and placards, insha\u2019 Allah.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The \u2018chair\u2019 he is referring to is presumably the journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, who has spoken out against prepubescent girls being forced to wear hijab.\u00a0 The sectarian and divisive language he uses belies suggestions that either he or the MCB have become moderate.\u00a0 Not content with just words, Bunglawala also moved to create a physical division between the two groups, requesting that his protest be given a separate pen to that of the BMSD.\u00a0 On the 30th<\/sup> of October, he sent out a further email, again attacking the BMSD for not fitting his Islamic criteria:<\/p>\n

\n

The BMSD \u2013 whose leading members advocate that Muslim schoolgirls should be forbidden from wearing the hijab and believe there is nothing wrong with drinking alcohol in Islam \u2013 have naturally attracted the support of Zionists like Mel P, Harry\u2019s Place and Spittoon blog<\/p>\n

[\u2026] Muslims4UK have spoiled that little plan of theirs, alhamdulillah!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Upon discovering Bunglawala\u2019s strikingly nasty campaign against a harmless group of budding Muslim secularists, one cannot but ask the question:\u00a0 why would the spokesman for the supposedly liberal MCB not only reject the advances of BMSD, but seek to smear and discredit them?\u00a0 The short answer to this is simple: this is how the MCB have gotten where they are<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Through undermining and attacking other Muslims, they have succeeded in clearing the ground for themselves.\u00a0 For years the MCB have been allowed to drown out the voices of the truly secular, liberal Muslims that this country desperately needs.<\/p>\n

Although Bunglawala may write exactly what readers of the Guardian<\/em> and sections of the government would like to hear, it is clear that when he addresses his own crowd things turn ugly.\u00a0 The CLG are now on the verge of bringing the MCB back in from the cold, and before the final decision is made they should seriously consider the long term consequences of legitimising such a voice.<\/p>\n

focusonislamism@standpointmag.co.uk <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a><\/i><\/a><\/i><\/a><\/i><\/a><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

No related posts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a Parliamentary committee room last week, I witnessed the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Mohammed Abdul Bari, present evidence at a Communities and Local Government (CLG) hearing about the effectiveness of the Prevent agenda. As well as being reminded of just how little this man and his organisation had to offer to such a complex debate, I was also struck that CLG still sought their opinion. Three days after the hearing, Martin Bright gave us yet more evidence about the unpleasant nature of the MCB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ondrocks2000.com\/standpoint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}