LONDON, 13 June — Only two Muslims out of 27 candidates were elected to Parliament in the recent British election. This month’s publication, The Muslim News, points out that this is a “gross under-representation of Muslims in Parliament”. Despite this, progress has been made and can be seen in many fields.
As soon as the election results were known, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) prepared a document entitled Electing to Listen which presents the concerns and demands of the two-million-strong British Muslim community. The issues raised involve the family, the institution of marriage, open funding for Muslim schools which would raise their educational level.
The MCB asked Muslim voters to extract some commitment from their prospective MP.
In the run-up to the election, leading politicians faced probing questions from a Muslim panel and audience of a TV show sponsored jointly by the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) and the MCB.
The leaders of Britain’s three main political parties told The Muslim News that they recognized Muslims suffered disproportionately from religious discrimination. “All pledged support for Muslim schools and praised Islam’s teachings on the importance of the family,” The Muslim News said. Speaking on the need for full integration of various communities into British public life, Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in this month’s The Muslim News. “In order to be a successful nation, we must make sure that we make the most of the talents of everyone in Britain.” He also noted, “Our public institutions will only become truly effective when they reflect the communities they serve.”
Khalid Mahmood has become Britain’s second Muslim MP after successfully defending the seat vacated by former Social Security Minister Jeff Rooker. The former city councilor, originally from Kashmir, joins his Labor colleague Muhammed Sarwar, who was returned to the House of Commons with an increased majority.
