Maria Akbar condemns Muslims who have chosen to break bread this Ramadan with politicians who are complicit in the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza.
For the life of me, I can’t understand what motivates members of the Muslim community to attend PR stunts disguised as iftars with those who supported the genocide on Gaza.
On several occasions during Ramadan we have seen Muslims attend these disgraceful gatherings with those who are complicit in the plight of our oppressed brethren.
There was the “Westminster Hall iftar” attended by Prime Minister Keir Starmer who refused to back a ceasefire in Gaza at the height of the Israeli genocide.
In an LBC interview, Starmer even stated that Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza – clear war crimes under international law.
During this iftar, Keir Starmer stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslims, smiling as if he had not spent the past year and a half defending genocide. And they, in turn, smiled with him, posted pictures and uploaded videos, thus portraying him as an ally to the Muslim community.
And just a few days ago, Ilford Islamic Centre in London invited the Health Secretary Wes Stressing to its iftar, despite the fact that he also refused to back a ceasefire in Gaza at the height of the Israeli genocide and was a target of pro Palestine activists at the last election.
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Don’t these Muslims know that Islam commands us to stand firm for justice? To have wilayah for Muslims and to disassociate from those who oppress them?
I am incredulous, therefore, as to how these Muslims can share plates with the very people ensuring that the plates of Palestinians at iftar and suhoor remain empty. How do they sit at tables with those responsible for making sure that countless seats in Gaza’s homes are now permanently vacant? Have they truly forgotten?
In my view, giving these politicians our platforms and time cannot be justified in any way. It is simply enabling them and allowing their hypocrisy to go unchecked, their crimes to go unchallenged. And they will simply walk away stronger, knowing that they can help slaughter Muslims abroad and still be welcomed at our tables at home.
Iftar is not a social gathering. It is an act of worship, a moment of closeness to Allah when we break our fasts and make the du’a: “The thirst is gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is certain, if Allah wills.”
How then can we make a mockery of this by breaking bread with those who support the starvation of Palestinians?
As Muslims, we feel and bleed with the Muslims being oppressed all over the world because we are an Ummah. And just as the hadith says: “The Ummah is considered as one body, and if any part of it hurts, then the rest of it hurts.”
The lengths to which Western rulers and governments are willing to go to achieve their agendas is limitless. And the Labour Party is desperate for Muslim votes because they know they face a formidable challenge from right wing parties such as Reform UK.
But we should have no part of this agenda as the Labour Party’s predicament (a collapse of Muslim support for it) is entirely of their own making.
Moreover, these desperate attempts at assimilation will not earn us respect, nor honour, but quite the opposite. Remember the words of Umar (RA) when he went to get the keys of Al Aqsa: “We were a disgraceful people and Allah honoured us with Islam, so if we seek honour from other than Islam, then Allah will humiliate us.”
CORRECTION: This article originally stated that Keir Starmer attended an iftar with Muslims at Windsor Castle. This was not the case and the piece has been amended accordingly.
