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  • Gorton and Denton isn’t a Muslim vote issue

    The topic of Islam has come up circumspectly in a by-election being held today in Greater Manchester, in a seat that Mayor Andy Burnham has not managed to find permission to contest. The lack of a popular figure has given rise to the belief that a Green candidate can win – even as a consolation for the Muslim community of these areas.

    The point is not, however, that a conflict elsewhere and statements here makes for a ‘Muslim’ candidacy out of a non-Muslim environmentalist. It doesn’t. The candidacy that makes a difference in any religious sense is one that has a practising context. This leaves the rest of the slate to be judged culturally, and not as a mockup of a local worshipping community.

    “As a general rule, the minimum we should do is register to vote. By doing this, we each become a person whom political parties need to win over, if they want to stay in power. It makes politicians more responsive to our views, and means they have to support policies that benefit our communities if they want to keep us on side.”

    – Dr. Haitham al-Haddad/Islam21C.

    The point is made laboriously by Muslim scholars in the UK, who write at length about the need for Muslims to stay focused, to not be radicalised for the sake of any agenda at all, and to remember core principles by which to make a decision by themselves – and without outside influence, whatever the source. This is a core enlightenment principle, anyway, and is what we stand by in a country such as ours.

    Islam21C, a Muslim-led organisation, has published an article on its website by Dr. Haitham al-Haddad, penning into print his thoughts and views on the matter at hand. He takes a sage approach to the issue, making sure to draw comparisons with broad Islamic principles in as broad a way as the campaign has opened up for respective candidates. It doesn’t count as an affirmation for any one party, but a reaffirmation of Muslim participation this time.

  • England is unsure of itself

    England is the largest of the four nations that make up the UK, and so in some sense it’ll be guaranteed to an extent to have the social difficulties of a size, scale, and scope that matter.

    A scene of houses in a street in a large town in England, the largest nation of the UK.

    This makes us think in one way as, at the same time, we feel in another. It creates conflict if we don’t think about it enough. It may mean divergence in opinion until we make sense of it all. This is seen as increasingly likely.

    The solutions are out there if we manage to reach the point of agreement. The splinter of conjecture in Parliament isn’t always the easiest route. It certainly produces unfortunate and unpredictable outcomes.

  • Empty hearts on quiet streets

    It’s a vile situation. There are hundreds of children in a local area said by police to be victims of sexual abuse. The community is quiet. There isn’t a single whistleblower in any of the neighbourhoods.

    It’s a scandal in the making. Unfortunately there isn’t a single Journalist in sight. The national newspapers, news channels, and public pundits are nowhere to be seen. Maybe it’s they don’t like it here.

    Fast forward, and it’s all over the Internet. There are white males on television having crusades to defend white girls. A presenter for a channel blasts out his missives over his views on what causes it.

    The next moves are obvious. It’s all to play for in Parliament. A member of the Commons didn’t turn up. Another is guilty of a crime in his past already. It’s not clear if one party wants to talk about the issue.

    There’s a silence. It seems few care about it where it’s known to have taken place. There’s more to see over here than there. It’s a fact of the matter. They’re still here and they’re on their own in it.