The Ulama Council of Newcastle have condemned parliamentary candidate Habib Rahman after he implied that Muslim scholars had supported his solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
The ulama say they told him explicitly that “what he said was incorrect” after he told Newcastle City Council earlier this month that he stands “in solidarity with all members of the LGBTQ+ community and I’m proud of the work that we do here in the city as a Stonewall council.”
The scholars’ statement was in response to Rahman’s assertion that he had consulted them and they reassured him that he had not contravened the Shari’ah after he said: “I stand in solidarity with all my brothers and sisters from the LGBTQ+ community.”
Rahman, an independent candidate for Newcastle Central and West, was speaking at Newcastle City Council on June 12.
Rahman, 50, is currently an independent Newcastle City Councillor after having left the Labour Party in January citing racism, Islamophobia and the party’s position on Gaza.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
He is the city’s first Bangladeshi Muslim local council cabinet member and the first Bangladeshi and Muslim Lord Mayor in Newcastle’s 800-year history.
