MP Expenses Scandal- ‘Politicians’ OR ‘Democracy’ to blame?

By Majed Iqbal- “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson

Such descriptions of the mythical ‘god like’ concept of democracy could not be described more aptly and with such significance than the times British Politics is going through right now.

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster ride for many MP’s in the whole Expenses debacle- a national laughing stock and growing signs of anger and frustration from the British Population at Government and Politicians across the board.

Ratings for News channels must have soared as reality TV took a new turn with each day unveiling who has been caught in another expenses scandal. In fact Newspapers might even be thinking of releasing an end of the month top 30 ‘Lunacy Chart’ that orders the most scandalous MP expenses Issue in order with a prize for the most ‘well behaved’.

As European Elections draw closer, there is huge debate on the Role of Politicians and huge question marks on whether Politics is a Career or a responsibility to the masses and constituents.

The endless line up of accusations and betrayal of trust has drawn a huge gulf between Politicians and the people. Can they be trusted? Especially with the entire farce that has been just so difficult to swallow.

Sir Gerald Kaufman Labour backbench MP for Manchester Gorton was accused of claiming his flat in a posh block near London’s Regent’s Park was “a slum” and putting in bills for £38,834 of work on the kitchen and bathroom. He also claimed £1,851 for an antique rug, £8,865 for a luxury TV and £1,262 for a gas bill that was actually £1,055 in credit. He has no mortgage on the property but still claimed £115,109 over seven years.

Tory backbench MP Nadine Dorries took £18,000 in rent payments. Beds daily between Westminster and her “second home” in Bedford, where her daughter goes to school and her dogs stay. This would mean she claimed expenses on the wrong property.

Tam Dalyell Labour backbench MP until 2005 Accused Of: Asking for £18,000 worth of designer bookcases for his Scottish turreted castle, the House of Binns, just eight weeks before retiring as MP.

David Chaytor was disgraced following the revelation he spent nearly a year claiming £12,925 for a loan he had already paid off.

Elliot Morley claimed £16,800 in 18 months after clearing his second home’s mortgage.
There was even an Oscar level performance between parties to present themselves as the leaders of rectifying the situation. Gordon Brown challenged David Cameron to justify why taxpayers should pay millionaire MPs’ mortgages.

He told Cameron: “The rich don’t need mortgages.”

Cameron, the wealthy Tory leader has been claiming close to the maximum to pay a £1,176-a-month mortgage on a £1.4million Oxfordshire house.

Rich Shadow Chancellor George Osborne bought his £445,000 constituency home in Cheshire for cash but then raised a mortgage on it, charging the taxpayer £1,560 a month.

Anthony Steen Tory backbench MP for Totnes tried to use the sympathy vote after claiming the maximum £87,729 over four years for items including tree surgery, protecting shrubs against rabbits, a wrought iron fireplace and a survey of his rhododendrons at his £1million Devon mansion.

He Said “It’s just the system is wrong and for the public it’s totally confusing and they think we’re all crooks – but we’re not.”

Are these all just simply examples of rotten apples that need to be ‘pushed out’ to allow more ripe and a newer breed of Politicians to come out?

The American Writer, Elwyn Brooks described so simply that “Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being the only formal religion they have”.

Hence it is of no surprise that Politicians have run away from criticising the ‘D’ word- Democracy. And this is no different for the News Channels, Newspapers, Magazines, Political websites, journals and blogs, all who have criticised politicians and not the Democratic system which breeds such corruption.

What is even more surprising is how the Muslim community has constantly been bulldozed into accepting democracy as part of parcel of a formation of a common identity and shared values that all British citizens must subscribe to.

In fact it was Hazel Blears, another Politician in the firing line over expenses claims, that even organised a Muslim youth advisory group to tackle ‘extremism’ and mobilise this body to engage in Politics as a counter path to those who advocate non –participation for the very above reasons.

As part of these efforts we have already seen ‘Exemplar’ ‘Muslim’ politicians presented to us in the past as voices for the Muslim Community but in the last weeks have really shown that their politics has nothing to do with serving communities but only themselves.

After Blear’s scandal, are such Politicians in the position to lecture the Muslim community on the ideals and ‘benefits’ of Democracy?

Are Shahid Malik and Khalid Mehmood simply just bad Muslims that need to be replaced with better Muslim in the Democratic process?

The ‘D’ word has reached a stage where it is sacrosanct to even question it, despite the fact that as a system it is institutionally corrupt, produces terrible laws and has switched off millions from the political process.

So is there any surprise that Muslims in Britain challenge the narrative of Democracy as the only form of governance that can guarantee prosperity? Is there any surprise when the same ideals are imposed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan that people in these regions show concern? How can such a discredited system be presented as ‘the’ model of governance countries should have?

Even more so, how can the British Government in their latest adventure, the “Contest 2” document label a Muslim as extremist who challenges Democracy?

“We want to move away from just challenging violent extremism. We now believe that we should challenge people who are against democracy and state institutions”,

This is not just a grievance relegated to a particular community, but seems to be an idea that many have reservations for- and this is not just restricted to the recent expenses furore.

“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.” Oscar Wilde

“The more you read and observe about this Politics thing you got to admit that each party is worse than the other” – Will Rogers

“Saying we should keep the two-party system simply because it is working is like saying the Titanic voyage was a success because a few people survived on life rafts.” – Eugene McCarthy

Muslim community says NO to sex education for five year olds

By Majed Iqbal- Government plans to introduce Sex and relationship education to five year old primary school children have been heavily contested by campaign groups up and down the country by the Muslim community.



Once these studies are in fruition, parents will not have the choice to opt their children out of the lessons which will teach that Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-sexual relationships are perfectly normal.

The studies were designed with the perceived wisdom that ‘good sex education' leads to better informed children and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and teenage pregnancies.

The sexualisation of society in the form of media, film, songs and the internet has opened up a new wave of issues for everyone. Britain remains the lead country in Europe with the highest figures of teenage pregnancies whilst number of abortions carried out on girls aged under 18 in Wales was at a five-year high, in new government figures released this week

A recent UNICEF report placed Britain at the bottom of the league of 21 developed countries for children's well-being. The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV reported in June 2007 that UK teenagers are facing a "sexual health crisis", describing the increase in sexually-transmitted infections and high teenage pregnancy rates as "disturbing".

Sex at five? No thanks!

By Zaythoun Suleman- When I was five, all I wanted was to play with my friends and enjoy my childhood under the cloudless skies and fields full of daisies. I was unaware of the dangers and evils of this world and if it was up to me, I would have loved to have it kept that way for as long as possible.



Do our children really need to begin knowing about sex and relationships at 5 years old? Is making them aware of their body parts and sexual acts preparing them to make informed decisions for the future or is the Government opening Pandora's box even further? A box filled with evil unleashed to plague the innocent mind is surely doing more damage than good.

The evil spreading reminds me of nuclear bombs dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the effect of which is long-term devastation and destruction for many years to come. Instead of equipping them to protect themselves from the monsters of society, Isn't SRE making them more vulnerable with this knowledge?

Children are an amanah (trust) given to us by Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala; with their minds fresh and like sponges, they absorb information from all around them. They are like a handful of clay that can be moulded to form any shape. It is up to us as parents or carers on how we should mould them.

So how do we as parents reply when our children come and ask us "Mum/Dad where do babies come from?"

FACEBOOK SRE CAMPAIGN- Sign the Online Petition

Sign the petition against Sex and relationship Education which as part of new Government plans can be introduced soon to be taught at Primary school to children as young as 5 years old. Show your support to stop this initiative. Sign the Petition by clicking on the link Below.



Join the Campaign and become active in a very important community issue which can affect the future of your children, nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters and grand children.

SIGN THE PETITION- CLICK HERE

Join the Facebook Campaign for Rochdale Muslims against SRE for 5 year olds

Join the Facebook Campaign for Rochdale Muslim against SRE by adding yourself onto the group. Keep informed over the developments to be made in Rochdale on this important community agenda.



Participate in the campaign and protect the Islamic social values for your future generation.

If you're ready for action, then Click Here

VIDEO AD- Rochdale Muslims against SRE

Th Rochdale Muslim community is planning to challenge the Sex and Relationship education which is set to be delivered to Primary School children as young as five years old. Watch the Video Advert. Want to join the campaign?



Simply fill in your contact details on the contact tab on the blog and join in a host of activities which include firstly to raise awareness on this issue, get petition signatures, mobilise women to take an added interest in their children's education and the values departed to them at school, engage with religious institutions like mosques and churches to challenge the social values presented in the studies, attract the online community through a face book campaign and posting video adverts on YouTube and distributing and posting leaflets in English, Urdu and Bangla throughout Rochdale.

Muslim Parents face prosecution over school ‘Gay Week’ protest

By Majed Iqbal- Muslim parents who withdrew their children out of school to prevent them being taught about lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender relationships are facing prosecution.



The East London primary, George Tomlinson School, has hit the headlines when around 30 pupils were absent from a week of special lessons to highlight non-heterosexual partnerships.

The row has once again bought the debate forward to the suitability of such explicit subjects, which were once introduced in the late years of High School some years back and are now being exposed and presented to young children at Primary Level.

As part of the ‘learning' process, students were planned to watch a special adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet retitled Romeo and Julian. Stories covered in the lessons at George Tomlinson School included a fairytale about a prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love with one of their brothers and the tale of Roy and Silo - two male penguins who fall in love.

Leaked Government document “Contest 2” says you are an Extremist

By Majed Iqbal- The Muslim community has been taken back by a new leaked document by the government which plans to ban traditional Islamic ideas, equating them with extremism.



The document titled ‘Contest 2' was leaked to the press last month in the Guardian Newspaper and covered on a BBC Panorama episode where the classification of an extremist was broadened to include anyone whose views do not correspond to the ‘government' definition of shared British values.

The new proposals in the leaked document plan to tackle people who are not involved in violence or support terrorism. Under the current proposals, British Muslims would be considered "extremist" if they advocated non-participation in UK elections, called for the creation of a caliphate, promoted Shariah for the Muslim world and argued that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.

Additionally, extremist views would include supporting armed resistance by Palestinians against Israel as seen in the current Gaza conflict - and a failure to condemn the killing of British service personnel in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Rochdale at the Khilafah Conference 2008- "The need for Political Unity"

Thousands of delegates attended Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain's national Conference: Khilafah – The Need for Political Unity in London earlier today. This conference was part of a month of global activities following similar events in Palestine, Iraq, Indonesia, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Mombasa, Australia, Pakistan and Yemen.



Rochdale participated in the Conference with over 50 brothers and sisters making their journey early in the morning. Everyone was eagerly awaiting to listen to the Keynote speeches on the future of the Muslim world in light of the Food and Oil Crisis, amassed debt, Poverty and War stricken areas.

The speeches focused on tackling the issues of Unity amongst muslim countries under the shade of the khilafah State (caliphate) possible when there is ethnic, cultural, regional and jurispundential disputes amongst Muslims?

One speech specifically looked at the case study for Khilafah in Pakistan and how specific Islamic policies could fundamentally root out problems the people are facing like corruption and economic mismanagement of State and Public resources.

Are British Muslims "Attention Seekers"?

By Majed Iqbal- A report issued this month has found eye-opening evidences that Muslims living in Britain suffer disproportionately more from discrimination, racial abuse and racial attacks than any other faith group, and the more openly devout they are, the more likely they are to experience harassment and abuse.



The Study titled "Muslims under siege- Alienating Vulnerable Communities" was used as part of the Channel 4 Dispatches program aired this month which went out actively to prove that Islam and Muslims are used as political tools for Politicians, Propaganda stories by press and consequently left open to ridicule.

Report commissioners Peter Oborne and James Jones in their Report Introduction write "The seed for this pamphlet was planted in October 2006 when Jack Straw and other cabinet ministers raised the issue of Muslim women wearing the veil. It soon became clear that this was more than a random rumination from a member of the government. Rather Labour appeared to have made the extraordinary decision to try to identify with a general mood of resentment and anxiety about the presence of Muslim communities in this country and to intervene in the politics of religious identity".

Summer Events to help Empower Muslim Youth

A SERIES of rap contests, football tournaments and graffiti sessions are being organised over summer to help Muslim youths empower themselves. The events are being organised regionally by Hizb-ut-Tahrir as part of their Stand For Islam campaign.

Organisers hope the activities will better equip the youngsters against any backlash towards Muslims by helping them to understand their own religion better and to be able to stand up to negative portrayals of Muslims by being able to engage in positive dialogue with the wider community.



The events are taking place throughout the north west including Rochdale, Bolton, Accrington, Oldham, Manchester, Bradford, Halifax and Leeds and is starting this July.

The football tournament will involve each town organising a mini tournament with the winners playing off each other in the 'Champions League' final.

Organisers are asking budding artists to express their art form in a more positive way instead of on buses or public walls. Instead they are invited to take part in the Islam graffiti competition in the aim that the pieces of work could be displayed in local libraries, community centres or sport clubs.

Chief Justice Lord Phillips and his Misconceptions on Shariah Law

By Majed Iqbal- What was sparked off as a major discussion in February this year by Archbishop Rowan Williams on Shariah law has once again re-surfaced in the Media. However, this time its not a religious figure who will be maligned by the nation for promoting values of Islam instead of his own faith.

Joining the discussion this time round is Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers who has said "There is no reason why sharia principles, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution".

The judge said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had been misunderstood when it was reported in February that he said British Muslims could be governed by sharia law. "Dr Williams suggested that sharia could play a role in aspects of marital law, the regulation of financial transactions and authorised structures of mediation and conflict resolution. It was not very radical to advocate embracing sharia law in the context of family disputes" he said.

Whilst one would warm to the comments made by the Chief Justice in appreciating how Shariah has the ability to resolve disputes in a manner in personal lives in a decent and befitting manner, much to the contrary of what is seen in wider society, his understanding of how shariah deals with crime and punishment in societal life seems to be marred with the same images of 'Kangaroo courts' displayed in Tabloid press and documentaries that have hit our screens.

A life without meaning is no life at all

By Moh Bloggs- Bridgend is a sleepy little place in South Wales, I've passed through it once many many moons ago, it struck me like the rest of the small towns in Wales a place without any real purpose.



This small town is now the centre of what is one of the UK's largest suicide patterns with 16 apparent suicides amongst young people in the last year alone.

The latest victims are two cousins who were found dead within hours of each other, Nathaniel Pritchard, 15, died in hospital after "harming himself" and Kelly Stephenson, 20, was found hanged while on holiday in Kent. The Police are not linking the current deaths to the pattern in Bridgend at the moment, but I think there is something more sinister at work here.

New aged liberal intolerance

By Moh Bloggs - Just like Kryptonite to Superman, there are some things British society just can't stand. In the last week one of these seems to be Islam I say this having considered the gravity of the statement very carefully.



Ever since the comments from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowen Williams, regarding the possible use of some aspects of Sharia law for Muslims in the areas of marriage and the like, there has been a frenzy of anti-muslim sentiments. These have been expressed by the media (both written and visual) and by the average person on the street.

The very idea of Muslims using Islam to solve their own problems has been lost in the noise about how supposedly backward Sharia is, conjuring up scenes of hand chopping and public floggings in the streets of Britain.

Sadiq Khan MP- A Usual Suspect?

By Majed Iqbal- "For people to feel confident in the police and security service we need to know what has happened." These were the words of Sadiq Khan, MP for tooting involved in a scenario where he was bugged on visiting a Prisoner.

The Sunday Times reported that Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist squad eavesdropped on conversations and covertly recorded during prison visits made in 2005 and 2006 between Khan and Babar Ahmad, a childhood friend of the MP who has campaigned against his extraditionand curently faces deportation to the United States, at Woodhill prison, Milton Keynes.

The table used for the meeting is reported to have contained hidden microphones. Questions are now looming as to whether the bugging operation was authorised by the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith or Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

It seems that the distrust the government, Political parties as well as the police has is not limited to the Muslim community at large but now extends even to those Muslim individuals who have dedicated their life in the political process only to be bitten by the same hand that has fed them.

EVENT ANALYSIS- Do Muslim Women in Britain Need Empowering?

By Yasmeen Ahmed (Rochdale)- Inline with the governments recent push to "empower" Muslim women headed by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, an event was organised by the North West Regional Assembly, Friends of Islam (All Party Parliamentary Group), it was held on Monday 21st January 2008 at Bolton Town Hall, and was entitled "Realising our potential: Promoting the talents of Muslim Women"



The government have invested £70m for Muslim womens projects, which has been allocated over the next 3 years; £45m will be given to local authorities for work on "preventing violent extremism". Some of this money will go towards efforts to give Muslim women a bigger role in creating "strong, resilient communities".

In the attentive audience was a mixture of people from the private, public, and voluntary sector; and, as it was a public event, there were members of the community in attendance curious to know what the latest government led initiative meant for the Muslim community.

The event which had been described as "ground-breaking" was well attended by Muslim women, of which I was one. Amongst the invited guest speakers was MP of Salford, Hazel Blears. Unfortunately?! Ms.Blears was unable to grace us with her presence on the day.

Hazel blears launches Muslim Women "Assertiveness Courses"

Published on the Asian Image Website

By Majed Iqbal- After the joke and unsuccessful attempts of former Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly in launching her Nasiha project for imams and mosques to tackle extremism in Muslim communities, her new successor Hazel Blears has shown that she is even more far ahead than Kelly when it comes to Political entertainment.



Communities Secretary Hazel Blears is to give instructions that some of a £70 million Government fund set up to encourage "cohesion" should be used to try to bolster the confidence of women. Sounds great, sounds ambitious and what a nice way to help British women feel involved, especially after the sexual harassment received at workplaces, having been victims of domestic violence which constitute a quarter of all crimes reported yearly, the un-equality in pay which has been raging on for decades and the gender stereotypes for particular employments. Thanks hazel.

EXPOSED- "NASIHA" PROJECT

EXPOSED- "NASIHA" PROJECT-

NO to Government Agendas in Rochdale By Majed Iqbal

It has been months since the Government flashed out its new agenda for the Muslim community in the guise of re-structuring madrassahs with the teaching of a British version of Islam. Despite millions being poured in to win the 'Hearts and Minds' battle within the Muslim community, success has been minimal.

Gordon Brown, shortly after his inaugration re-championed the cause promising £32 Million in investment for next year on this very project and praising the launch of the Nasiha project in its pilot area, Bradford . Rochdale was allocated £100,000 by government to tackle the causes of 'Violent Extremism' , which again is the principle concept behind issuing this new curriculum for Masjids.



The clickable documents found above are all the organisations, institutions, groups and prominent individuals from Bradford who rejected the Government project and showed concern at the motivation behind the idea. However, on TV, through the press, and hand-picked Muslim personnel, the picture trying to be painted out is one of success and amazing results. The Documents are a proof of the rejection of the Government Plan, in the pilot area from grasroots organisations and individuals. If this is the case in the pilot area, what credibility does it have elsewhere?

EXPOSED- "NASIHA" PROJECT-

NO to Government Agendas in Rochdale By Majed Iqbal

It has been months since the Government flashed out its new agenda for the Muslim community in the guise of re-structuring madrassahs with the teaching of a British version of Islam. Despite millions being poured in to win the 'Hearts and Minds' battle within the Muslim community, success has been minimal.

Gordon Brown, shortly after his inaugration re-championed the cause promising £32 Million in investment for next year on this very project and praising the launch of the Nasiha project in its pilot area, Bradford . Rochdale was allocated £100,000 by government to tackle the causes of 'Violent Extremism' , which again is the principle concept behind issuing this new curriculum for Masjids.

The clickable documents found above are all the organisations, institutions, groups and prominent individuals from Bradford who rejected the Government project and showed concern at the motivation behind the idea. However, on TV, through the press, and hand-picked Muslim personnel, the picture trying to be painted out is one of success and amazing results. The Documents are a proof of the rejection of the Government Plan, in the pilot area from grasroots organisations and individuals. If this is the case in the pilot area, what credibility does it have elsewhere?

Key personalities like Mufti Mohammed Zubair Butt, Shariah Advisor, Institute of Islamic Jurispudence from Bradford was un-equivocal in his stance in the dispatches program on working on such government Initiatives. Unfortunately, Personalities on the same program from Rochdale had other views which were unrepresentative and lacked any real credibilty in thought. The reason simply being is a blind following of the British Governments Agenda, as witnessed in their support and backing and as outlined by many commentators.

There is no intellectual reasoning for such projects and should not in any way be transalated into the Masaajid and community of Rochdale. It is this path which will trigger off a divide in the Muslim community and will work to our own detriment, but will score major political points for the Government in its steps to tackle its phoney War on Terror.

The RHYS JONES Tragedy

By Majed Iqbal- It was Wednesday night, 22nd August, when the mother of 11-year-old Rhys Jones cradled her dying son in her arms after he was shot on the streets of Liverpool by a youth who rode past on a BMX bike. One of the bullets hit Rhys in the neck, one hit a car and another missed.



The murder comes in the latest series of killings of young people this year. The Liverpool boy was the seventeenth young victim of gun crime in the UK this year. Other high-profile cases include 18-year-old Nathan Foster, a youth worker who was shot in the street in south London earlier this month and 15-year-old Michael Dosunmu, who was shot in Peckham, also in south London, in February.

Nearer to home, on Friday 24th August, a 20-year-old woman attacked by a gang of youths in a park in Rossendale, Lancashire, died in hospital. Lancashire police charged five teenage boys, aged between 15 and 17.

An inquest into the killing of Jessie James, 15, who was shot dead in Manchester last year, heard he was killed because he refused to join a gang.