In one of the oldest tricks in the books, Ed Husain has chosen to dismiss the overwhelming evidence that has come to light on Islamophobia within the Conservative Party and to attack instead the Labour Party and Muslim organisations in an extremely poor article published in the Telegraph (6th of June; Jeremy Corbyn is pitting Britain’s Muslims against Jews).
In a move not lacking in irony, Husain conveniently dismisses the claims of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) as a ‘political card’ and proceeds in poor taste to attempt point scoring by pitting Jews against Muslims in a tired racist and sectarian trope, so old it’s pathetic.
Husain chooses to question the MCB’s representivity; an organisation that represents over 500 mosques, schools and associations across the country, while giving himself the authority to speak on behalf of Muslims.
It’s surprising that The Telegraph has chosen to sacrifice its editorial integrity by running what can only be described as a hatchet job against a leading Muslim umbrella organisation.
Baseless – and slanderous – comments against the Muslim Association of Britain accuse us of “opposing the West, seeking to destroy Israel and create Islamist governments” which at best can be taken to be of someone woefully ignorant of the work that MAB has actually done.
Husain’s defence of the Conservative Party merely amounts to highlighting its accommodation of Muslims – an insult to all the British Muslims at the forefront of their society and participating in the different fields, and typical of an individual who continues to suffer from some inferiority complex.
The Muslim Association of Britain is an apolitical party and has members from across the political spectrum, who act, behave and speak as British citizens who enjoy their rights to adopt whichever reasonable viewpoint they choose.
“At a time when parties are more content with attacking one another, than actually listening to the concerns of the British people and tackling actual bigotry and issues in-house, it is disgraceful that the Telegraph chose to allow such a poor and tasteless piece to adorn their pages,” said MAB President, Dr Anas Altikriti.
He added: “In a binary world of Husain’s black and white where oversimplification rules supreme, he pits hard-Leftists with Islamists, a claim simply ludicrous on its own for anyone with an iota of knowledge following events in the Middle East.”
The Muslim Association of Britain, while still waiting for a response from the Telegraph to a Right to Reply, reserves its right to seek legal counsel regarding the lies and slanders contained in the aforementioned article.
Muslim Association of Britain
7th June 2018
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