by Brian Bamford
BRING ON the Bandwaggon of Muslim Awareness!
AFZAL KHAN MP for Manchester Gorton, wrote to Rochdale Council:
'I am writing to you in my capacity as vice-chair of the All Parliamentary Group on British Muslims. As you may be aware, in 2018 we published our report on 'Islamophobia Defined: the inquiry into a working definition of islamophobia'. The definition is 'Islamophobia is rooted in racism and a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or a perceived of Muslimness', and includes an inexhaustive number of contemporary examples of Islamophobia. It has now been adopted by over eight hundred organisations, such as Manchester and Salford City Councils, Bury MBC, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
'Islamophobia is sadly rife across Britain - including the media and public life - and can have distressing real life implications for our Muslim community, including the threat of violence. We have seen during this Covid-19 pandemic that people of Muslim heritage have been dispropotionately affected. This Muslim Awareness Month, is the responsibility of everyone, including all levels of government, to tackle this insidious hatred.'
Yesterday, a concerned Carl Faulkner wrote in response to this that: 'Rochdale Labour and Rochdale Council have adopted a definition of Islamophobia that actually has no legal standing, but is simply something that has been pushed upon them by Afzal Khan MP.'
A CAREER BUILT on being MUSLIM
Afzal Khan was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 11. After leaving school without qualifications, he had a number of jobs, including as a Greater Manchester Police constable, before returning to education and qualifying as a solicitor:[1] He is now a partner of solicitors Mellor & Jackson in Oldham.
Khan was first elected a Labour Councillor in 2000, being re-elected in 2004, 2007 and 2011, representing Cheetham Ward. He served as Executive Member for Children's Services. Khan became the first Muslim Lord Mayor of Manchester, taking the position for 2005–2006.
In 2010, Khan was appointed CBE for his race relations work.
In March 2017, he applied to be Labour's candidate in the 2017 Manchester Gorton by-election and was officially selected on 22 March.[14] During the by-election, he said "I condemn the statements made by Ken Livingstone and I believe there is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party." He added, "I have been a lifelong campaigner against racism and anti-Semitism. In 2008, I was awarded a CBE in part for my work encouraging greater understanding between Muslims and Jews."
GORTON's FASHION for 'FOOT in the MOUTH' MPs
Khan was again selected for as the Labour candidate for Gorton in the general election and was elected, becoming Manchester's first Muslim MP.[17] In July 2017, Khan was appointed Shadow Immigration Minister.
However, in July 2019, Khan had to humbly apologised when he shared on Facebook two years earlier a video of American comedian Jon Stewart talking about Benjamin Netanyahu. The text under the video referred to an "Israel-British-Swiss-Rothschilds crime syndicate" and "mass murdering Rothschilds Israeli mafia criminal liars". Khan said he was "mortified", claiming "I didn't read the text below, which contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy about the Rothschilds. I would never have shared it if I had seen that".
It may be worth mentioning that from 1983-2017, Sir Gerald Kaufman, Father of the House of Commons, represented the same Manchester Gorton constituency. And should I say funnily enough in November 2015, he too was castigated by none other than Jeremy Corbyn for claiming:
“It’s Jewish money, Jewish donations to the Conservative party – as in the general election in May – support from the Jewish Chronicle, all of those things, bias the Conservatives,” Kaufman said. “There is now a big group of Conservative members of parliament who are pro-Israel whatever government does and they are not interested in what Israel, in what the Israeli government does.
“They’re not interested in the fact that Palestinians are living a repressed life, and are liable to be shot at any time. In the last few days alone the Israelis have murdered 52 Palestinians and nobody pays attention and this government doesn’t care.”
At that time predictable Jeremy Corbyn released a statement saying that Kaufman’s remarks were 'completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable'. He added 'Such remarks are damaging to community relations, and also do nothing to benefit the Palestinian cause,' he said. 'I have always implacably opposed all forms of racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia and will continue to do so. At my request, the chief whip has met Sir Gerald and expressed my deep concern.'
In such a climate of clumsy bumbling blundering politicians, can we be sure that the smart suited former solicitor Afzal Khan MP for Gorton, will not fall foul again of the standards and the taboos of the Muslimness criterior, which he and others are recomending? Or is it just another opportunity for virtue signaliing
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2 comments:
It would be nice if Afzal Khan and others were brave enough to speak out about the disgraceful persecution faced by Pakistan's Christians.
I don't know about Pakistan's Christians! How does the reports on the BBC News tonight about Tanveer Ahmed Rafique, a 48-year-old activist who has called for the disputed region to be granted independence from both Pakistan and India, fit into this model of 'MUSLIMNESS'? Tanveer was detained in August in the city of Dadyal. He has been on huger strike and now there are growing concerns for his wellbeing as a British man, who is facing up to three years in jail for taking down a Pakistani flag from a public square in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
And responding to a letter from one of Mr Rafique's friends, who raised the case with him in his capacity as their local MP, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he shared concerns about the "reported appalling treatment" of Mr Rafique and promised to raise it with the UK Foreign Office.
Mr Rafique, however, is part of a movement calling for a completely independent, united Kashmir. His wife told the BBC he was initially attracted to the cause after realising how difficult it was for his family in Pakistani-administered Kashmir to visit their relatives in Indian-administered Kashmir. "He thought, this used be one state and it shouldn't be divided," she said.
But Mr Rafique's peaceful activism attracted the attention of the authorities. Ms Rajput, his wife, told the BBC he had once previously been extrajudicially detained by the Pakistani military for three days before the British High Commission intervened. Mr Rafique's younger sister Asma, who lives in London, told the BBC her brother was warned by intelligence agents that if he did not stop his activities, "nobody would ever hear of him or see him again". The Pakistani military did not respond to a request to comment.
How does the MP Afzal Khan's definition of 'MUSLIMNESS' fit in with this cultural tradition?
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