Jahangir Mohammed, the director of Ayaan Institute, gives practical tips to Muslim candidates and campaign teams so that we can successfully realise our goal of cutting the umbilical cord between our community and the Labour Party.
To all those candidates standing as independents and for George Galloway’s Workers Party in the upcoming General Election do not underestimate the amount of work needed for you to win.
The fact that the Muslim vote is trending on social media and even mainstream media is not enough. Talking about the Muslim vote doesn’t necessarily translate into actual votes at the ballot box.
So take nothing for granted because you will need to work extremely hard to win. Here are ten tips:
- If you do not have the ability/energy/support to put in the work, let someone who has stand instead. The deadline for registration for candidates is June 7.
- Remind people to register to vote. Remember those eligible to vote are always less than an area’s Muslim population, and even those who are eligible may not have registered to vote.
- You will need the votes of non-Muslims as well. Polls suggest that non-Muslim voters are concerned about the Palestine/Gaza issue too. And of course you will need to talk about other issues affecting local communities – identify a few.
- Maximise your reach and chances of publicity, use media opportunities as well where you can.
- You need lots of volunteers to knock on doors because this is the bread and butter of election victories. You will need to do this until the day of the vote for those who are undecided or uninterested in voting. Establish a campaign team early on for support.
- Make sure you gain community support and that of mosque congregations. Labour candidates hand out leaflets outside the gates of mosques and their candidates stand outside talking and persuading people. It would help if you went where the people are.
- Always prepare and think about what you say and post or share on social media.
- Dress appropriately and smartly but not out of touch with the area. Believe it or not, colours and dress leave an impression.
- Independents can win in many areas, but there must be one strong candidate. Do not split the vote and let the Labour candidate have an easy ride.
- It is better if imams, priests etc do not stand. They are for the House of Lords. Non-Muslims are highly unlikely to vote for imams.
So let’s make July 4th an Independence Day for Muslims. That is, independence from the Labour Party.
Out of 19 constituencies with significant Muslim populations in the last election, every one of them voted a Labour MP and 80% of Muslims voted Labour overall.
So no community in Britain is more attached to Labour than Muslims. Let’s change this to repay them for the contempt they have shown us and for supporting the genocide of our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
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