“This is undoubtedly the most important vote Britons will ever cast in our generation; and Muslims should use their vote for a stronger Europe.” President of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), Dr Omer El-Hamdoon, made the remark when questioned about the 23 June referendum to decide whether Britain remains in, or exits the European Union.
While acknowledging that the EU is not a perfect body, MAB believes Britain will be much stronger as a member state for the following reasons:
A vote to remain in Europe will, in the present climate, safeguard the integrity of the United Kingdom. A vote to leave will revive calls for independence in Scotland and other British Isles.
The EU plays a major role in consolidating and upholding democratic values. Its Convention of Human Rights offers a viable framework that ensures every European citizen is treated with dignity and respect. Claims that the Convention is a foreign imposition are manifestly wrong, given that the chair of its drafting committee was Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, a distinguished British lawyer.
Apart from personal security, the EU also helps with ensuring environmental security by placing strict limits on various types of pollution.
Membership of the EU has brought other benefits. There are 1.4 million Britons living in EU countries. Approximately 3.5 million British jobs are directly linked to our membership of the EU’s single market. Exit from the EU would put 1 in 10 jobs at risk. It would, further, jeopardise the interest of 74 per cent of British exporters and over 300,000 British companies who operate in EU markets.
Exit from the EU runs the risk of perpetuating rifts in British society, which would increase levels of hate crimes against British Muslims. The past few years have witnessed a disturbing rise of xenophobia and Islamophobia in our society. Sadly, the recent London mayoral elections have highlighted the extent to which the vilification of Muslims has become part of mainstream political discourse.
Similarly, issues relating to immigration and refuges should not be conflated. Recent studies show that between 2001 and 2011 immigrants from the original 15 EU countries contributed 64% more in taxes than they received in benefits. They contributed more than £20bn to the UK public finance during the period. While as many as 37% of UK-born workers were receiving some kind of state benefit or tax credit; European immigrants were less likely to collect them by nearly eight percentage points.
Furthermore, employment rates of the foreign-born workers have been lower than those of their UK-born counterparts. This was especially the case during the period 1993 to 2007 when the employment rates for both male and female migrants was lower than the corresponding rates for the UK-born.
After the financial crisis of 2008, the UK recorded low and negative employment growth for both UK and foreign nationals. However, in the period up to 2013 the majority of employment growth (92 per cent) was accounted for by UK nationals. Thus, a study by the London School of Economics found no evidence that immigration actually responsible for the mass displacement of UK workers or lower wages.
As for the refugees, they are the victims of war and persecution. So, while membership of the EU offers opportunities for a multilateral approach to the crisis, leaving the EU still does not relieve Britain of its international obligations toward them.
Staying in the EU ensures freedom of movement within EU countries and The European Arrest Warrant protects the individual’s right to justice should the perpetrator of a crime flees the UK to another EU country. Even consumer rights are enhanced by membership of the EU – the reason we are entitled to a 14-day return on any product we purchase is because of EU consumer laws.
Not only has the EU contributed to the health of our economy and environment; it has given Britons opportunities to live, work and study in member countries. It has made Britain more diverse and safe. For all the above reasons the MAB believes leaving the EU will not only result in economic, environmental, corporate and security risks, but could also seriously undermine social harmony in Britain. We are stronger, safer and better in Europe.
I am very disappointed with the article MAB Backs Vote to Remain in EU. It is shallow, superficial, and it appears that the MAB has a very poor knowledge and understanding of the EU.
Why, oh why, do so many people make the same old mistake that the Convention of Human Rights is part of the EU? It is NOT part of the EU but is part of the Council of Europe, a completely separate organisation from the EU. If Britain withdraws from the EU then it still remains a member of the Council of Europe (along with Russia and Azerbaijan) so the ECHR will still be available for British citizens to use.
My only explanation is misinformation peddled by certain ‘right-wing’ Eurosceptic newspapers and UKIP supporters. Some of the unpopular rulings of the ECHR, such as preventing foreign criminals or extremists living in Britain from being deported, make good headlines and the journalists use the opportunity to pin the blame squarely on the EU in order to encourage the readers to vote for Britain to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum. Even the President of the MAB, Dr Omer El-Hamdoon, has sadly swallowed this propaganda or else he wouldn’t have written what he has written.
He also misleads with his argument on immigration because his figures refer to just the 15 western European countries that were in the EU in 2003 and do not factor in immigration from eastern European countries which joined the EU during or after 2004. The bulk of immigration into Britain from EU countries since 2004 has come from eastern Europe.
A reference is made to the disturbing rise of xenophobia and Islamophobia in our society, but MAB has failed to recognise that several eastern European countries, and Greece, are so xenophobic, racist, and anti-Islamic that they are unpleasant and inhospitable places for Muslims to live in. Therefore is it really sensible from the perspective of a Muslim for Britain to enter into a political alliance with such hostile and anti-Islamic nations, or would the future be safer with alliances in the Commonwealth and Muslim majority countries instead? Islam is not even recognised as a religion in some EU countries – including Italy and Hungary.
I have been an opponent of the EU since 1990 and I am campaigning for Muslims to vote to leave the EU in the referendum.
“While acknowledging that the EU is not a perfect body”
The bedrock on which the EU is built are the Treaties – including Rome, Maastricht, and Lisbon amongst others. It is impossible to reform the EU from within by tinkering around the edges. The only way to implement serious reforms would literally mean ripping up the many treaties.
Power and authority in the EU are held by the Commission and the European Central Bank – both of which are comprised of unelected bureaucrats. These bureaucrats can only take up office if they respect the Treaties, so don’t expect any to go ahead and rip them up because they won’t. I am confident that the MAB can name senior British politicians but are they able to put any names to EU Commissioners and Bankers? If the answer is no, then their argument for Britain to remain in the EU will result in Britain being governed by people the MAB cannot even name, let alone know anything about!
“Exit from the EU would put 1 in 10 jobs at risk. It would, further, jeopardise the interest of 74 per cent of British exporters and over 300,000 British companies who operate in EU markets”
EU countries have very poor rates of economic growth whilst many countries outside of the EU have much higher economic growth and rising standards of living. How I interpret this is that low economic growth in the EU = low economic growth in Britain. Leaving the EU and forming better trade alliances with up and coming countries = the potential of higher economic growth in Britain.
This is one of many reasons why I am voting for Britain to leave the EU. I also know Muslims who are voting to leave the EU because of the same.
“but could also seriously undermine social harmony in Britain”
The EU is already undermining social harmony in Britain. The ‘open-doors’ immigration policy enables large numbers of eastern Europeans to settle in Britain. This has resulted in creating tensions and animosity between settled Muslims and recent eastern European immigrants in several local communities. The cultures and lifestyles of these eastern Europeans is very different from the cultures and lifestyles of Muslims, plus they also fight each other over jobs and access to resources. I know Muslims who are voting to leave the EU because they are concerned that the tensions between Muslims and eastern Europeans are rising, and eastern Europeans could become very hostile or violent towards Muslims – including the sisters, the elders, and children – in the future.