LONDON, 15 Nov. - (ANA) - British Muslim communities have said they feel “betrayed” by the government and the Labour Party over the UK’s response to the war in Gaza. Despite widespread pleas to demand a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reportedly exceeds 11,000, Rishi Sunak has not only refused to do so but sacked a Tory MP calling for one. 

 

Home secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of stirring up division as she persistently brands pro-Palestine protests “hate marches” and “mobs”. The labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also attracted criticism for refusing to call for a ceasefire, and this week one of his frontbenchers quit over the Labour leader’s stance. Imran Hussain MP, who has been on Labour’s frontbench for almost eight years, said he felt “deeply troubled” by the Labour leader’s much-criticised interview on LBC. 

 

A recent survey by Muslim Census of 29,000 responses suggests 66 per cent of Muslim voters would no longer back Labour in the next general election. Dr Haitham Al-Haddad, chair of the Fatwa Committee for The Islamic Council of Europe, told The Independent Muslim communities feel “disappointed and disheartened” by the government’s attitudes towards the invasion in Gaza. “It is not just because we are talking about Palestinians or Muslims,” he said. “But we are talking about human beings and children who have been killed in front of the entire world.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/15 November 2023 — - -