Right-wing think tank goes after Muslim Council of Britain leadership candidates
A right-wing think tank accused of promoting Islamophobia has attacked two candidates standing to become the next secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), suggesting the Labour government should not engage with the organisation.
The "likely frontrunner", Dr Mohammed Wajid Akhter, has hit back in comments to Middle East Eye, slamming the report as having "misrepresented" and distorted his views.
Insisting his vision "is to foster unity among all Britons", Akhter, a medical doctor,told MEE he believed Policy Exchange's report was "part of a wider effort to vilify active Muslims who contribute positively to society".
The Policy Exchange report, authored by senior fellow Andrew Gilligan, inaccurately claims that "Governments of all stripes have refused to deal with [the MCB] since 2009".
The current policy of disengagement with the MCB, adopted by Labour in government, came into force in 2021 when the Conservative government ordered civil servants to stop engaging with the group.
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The Policy Exchange report accuses Akhter, a candidate for the role of secretary-general who the report describes as the "likely frontrunner", of having "expressed views which appear ominous for the integration of Muslims into Britain".
It cites Akhter as saying that British Muslims should identify primarily but not exclusively as Muslim.
It also cites him opposing New Year celebrations and calling on Muslims to become a "powerful community" that can "change from the hand that is begging to the hand that is giving".
In 2022, Akhter wrote: "Choosing faith as a primary identity for your children (and of course yourself!) allows a solid foundation upon which to approach the world.
"Note that I say ‘primary’ as opposed to ‘only’… Teach them to be Muslim primarily."
'Troubling'
After the report's release Khalid Mahmood, a senior fellow at Policy Exchange and former Labour MP who lost his seat to a pro-Palestinian independent candidate in the July general election, said the government "rightly refuses to engages with the MCB".
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.
The report also says that Akhter was a spokesman for The Muslim Vote, a group which supported independent pro-Palestinian candidates in the 2024 election.
Akhter hit back, telling MEE that Policy Exchange "misrepresented" his views, which he said did not "diminish our shared British identity or humanity".
"As someone who has organised CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] courses, raised funds for orphans and championed political engagement," he added, "it is disappointing but unsurprising to see such distortions.
"It is troubling that others seek to define what makes a 'good Muslim' based on the ideological convictions of hard-right think tanks, rather than engaging with the lived experiences and contributions of British Muslims themselves."
Policy Exchange has been credited with significantly influencing the previous Conservative government's policy on counter-extremism, and has been widely accused of promoting Islamophobia, which the think tank has denied.
The report on Monday further takes aim at the other candidate for the role of MCB secretary-general, Dr Muhammad Adrees, a consultant physician and CEO of an online medical portal.
In 2017, Adrees praised the Iranian Revolution of 1979, describing Ayatollah Khomeini as a "great leader" who "led the nation to its destiny". He also praised Iran for its alleged respect for religious minorities.
Khalid Mahmood comments
Policy Exchange's Khalid Mahmood told The Times that the views of the two candidates were "deeply disturbing".
"That the MCB keeps getting it wrong is no accident. It is a design fault rooted in its ideology. The government rightly refuses to engage with the MCB."
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 against 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 communities secretary, sent a letter to government departments saying they were banned from engaging with the MCB.
However, the MCB has continued to work with some official institutions.
The MCB told MEE: “The Policy Exchange has a long history of hostility towards British Muslims, including being exposed by BBC Newsnight for fabricating evidence to smear our community.
"They are consistent in advocating for indirectly denying Muslims equal rights and an equal say in our democracy.
"Khalid Mahmood, a politician rejected by his own electorate appears intent on targeting his own community to gain favour with those who seek to marginalise us. As for the specific allegations raised, we trust our affiliates will scrutinise candidates thoroughly in the weeks ahead at our hustings events and through the democratic process."
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