Islam, Muslims and the British Elections
Soeren Kern
"In Miliband's Britain, it will become
impossible to criticise any aspect of Islamic culture, whether it be the spread
of the burka or the establishment of Sharia courts or the construction of
colossal new mosques. ... If he wins, Miliband will ensure that the
accelerating Islamification of our country will go unchallenged." — Leo
McKinstry, British commentator.
The report shows that Britain's Muslim population
is overwhelmingly young and will exert increasing political influence as time
goes on. The median age of the Muslim population in Britain is 25 years,
compared to the overall population's median age of 40 years.
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| Despite several grassroots campaigns to encourage British Muslims to vote in greater numbers, some prominent Islamists in the UK claim that voting is a "sin." |
The leader of Britain's Labour Party, Ed
Miliband, has vowed, if he becomes the next prime minister in general elections
on May 7, to outlaw "Islamophobia."
The move — which one observer has called
"utterly frightening" because of its implications for free speech in
Britain — is part of an effort by Miliband to pander to Muslim voters in a race
that he has described as "the tightest general election for a
generation."
With the ruling Conservatives and the
opposition Labour running neck and neck in the polls just days before voters
cast their ballots, British Muslims — who voted overwhelmingly for Labour in
the 2010 general election — could indeed determine who will be the next prime
minister.
In an interview with The Muslim News, Miliband
said:
"We are going to make it [Islamophobia] an
aggravated crime. We are going to make sure it is marked on people's records
with the police to make sure they root out Islamophobia as a hate crime.
"We are going to change the law on this so
we make it absolutely clear of our abhorrence of hate crime and Islamophobia.
It will be the first time that the police will record Islamophobic attacks
right across the country."
