Ousted MP Khalid Mahmood claims 'patriarchy' forced MCB leader out
Khalid Mahmood, a former Labour MP who lost his seat at the July general election to a pro-Palestinian independent, has claimed that the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) ousted its leader because of "patriarchy".
MCB's secretary-general, Zara Mohammed, is leaving because her term is coming to an end, and elections to replace her will be held later this month.
An MCB spokesperson told Middle East Eye on Tuesday afternoon that Mahmood's claims were "baseless".
"As a former MP rejected by his electorate, his comments appear to be a desperate bid for relevance, relying on falsehoods and Islamophobic tropes," the spokesperson said.
Mahmood is a senior fellow at right-wing think tank Policy Exchange, which has often been accused of promoting Islamophobia.
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He made the remarks on LBC on Tuesday, a day after Policy Exchange released a report accusing the MCB's leadership candidates of expressing "views which appear ominous for the integration of Muslims into Britain".
The MCB has strongly rejected the accusations.
Asked by interviewer Iain Dale if he thought Zara Mohammed was being pushed out of her role, Mahmood expressed agreement without providing evidence.
Contradicted theory
Mohammed was elected secretary-general of the MCB in 2021, becoming its youngest and first female leader.
An election is being held this month for her successor because she has reached her two-term limit in the role.
But Mahmood had a different theory. "I certainly think she's been pushed out," he said on LBC.
"The patriarchy in the MCB have done this...what they've now reverted to is the old same men who feel they are entitled [to lead] the Muslim community, whether the Muslim community decides it wants to be led by them or not."
The spokesperson for the MCB told MEE: "The Muslim Council of Britain is a democratic organisation where leadership is elected and governed by a clear constitution.
"Zara Mohammed’s term as Secretary General is ending after completing her democratically elected two-term limit, as per our rules.
"She has served with distinction. Claims that she is being 'pushed out by patriarchy' are baseless and contradict our proud record of inclusivity and progress."
When it was put to Mahmood on LBC that he was a "politician rejected by his own electorate [who] appears intent on targeting his own community to gain favour with those who seek to marginalise us", as an MCB spokesperson said on Monday, he responded: "I don't think they like me."
He added: "What entitles them [the MCB] to do this [seek to speak to the government] when they don't have the credibility to do this on a national level?"
Mahmood contrasted the MCB with himself.
"What have they done? I've been a - a sort of - [unintelligible] over the last 30 years. What have they actually done in the community apart from make statements that alienate a lot of young people in the community?"
Mahmood lost his seat in July after a video went viral showing him telling worshippers at a mosque in his Birmingham constituency to "shut up and listen" during a speech he was giving defending Labour's position on Israel's war on Gaza.
"Shut up and listen, please," he could be heard shouting in the video. "Give me the respect."
In the LBC interview on Tuesday, Mahmood asserted that "Islam tells you first of all that you must have allegiance to the country you are residing in".
He suggested that the MCB leadership candidates promoted the "segregation and isolation of the Muslim community" and implied that the organisation is not loyal to Britain.
"If you have no loyalty to the United Kingdom as your country, what are you actually doing seeking positions with the government then?" he asked.
'Why do they want a dialogue?'
The MCB, established in 1997, is an umbrella organisation with over 500 members - including mosques, schools, local and county councils, professional networks and advocacy groups.
Mahmood referred to this on LBC, saying: "500 organisations across the UK! I'll give you 500 Muslim organisations just in Birmingham."
He suggested there was no need for the MCB to speak to the government: "Why do they want a dialogue with the government?
"You've got the APPG [all party parliamentary group] on British Muslims who drive the definition of Islamophobia, which I don't agree with... You've now got people in parliament. One of them has taken my seat, and I accept that... Why should they have a right to go to government directly?"
'If it was up to these people, you'd be interacting with nobody'
- Khalid Mahmood, former Labour MP
However, he then attacked the MCB from a seemingly contradictory angle, saying that while most Muslims wanted to engage with British society, "if it was up to these people, you'd be interacting with nobody."
Over its history, MCB leaders have worked with civil servants and all major political parties. They have appeared at events alongside members of the royal family.
They have also collaborated with the Church of England and worked on initiatives with the National Health Service.
The organisation also has a long record of supporting Muslim involvement in the UK’s armed forces.
The MCB was briefly boycotted by Gordon Brown’s Labour government in 2009 after the organisation's then-deputy secretary-general signed a declaration in support of Palestinians’ right of resistance following Israel's three-week war on Gaza known as Operation Cast Lead.
Labour restored ties before its defeat in the 2010 general election, and MCB officials held a number of meetings with Liberal Democrat ministers during the Conservative-led coalition government that followed until 2015. However, Conservative Party ministers refused to meet MCB officials.
Civil servants continued to meet with the MCB until March 2020, when the organisation produced a dossier outlining what it said was evidence of Islamophobia involving more than 300 individuals, including Conservative MPs, councillors, party members and special advisers in 10 Downing Street.
Shortly afterwards, civil servants broke off relations with the organisation.
Robert Jenrick, then the communities secretary, sent a letter to government departments saying they were banned from engaging with the MCB.
An MCB spokesperson told MEE Mahmood's remarks were "entirely unfounded. Our record, including initiatives like Visit My Mosque Day, directly disproves his baseless accusations."
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