The Muslim Vote campaign is poisoning democracy

The Muslim Vote (TMV) campaign has attracted a great deal of attention in the build-up to next week’s UK General Election. Seeking to mobilise Britain’s four million Muslim voters, it pledges to support pro-Palestine parliamentary candidates who back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It is especially keen to inflict electoral harm on Labour MPs who – in TMV’s eyes – have failed to sufficiently condemn Israel for its actions in Gaza.

The cause of Palestinian statehood, insofar as it is rooted in Palestinians’ right to self-determination, is a noble one. Yet too many activists who pose as on the side of the Palestinians seem less interested in Palestine’s independence, or even in criticising Israel’s actual record of mistreating the Palestinians, than in chanting anti-Jewish slogans at protests and peddling anti-Semitic conspiracy theories online.

TMV appears to associate with such people. According to an investigation published by The Sunday Times at the weekend, it has endorsed multiple pro-Palestine candidates with deeply dodgy views. In May, it backed Owais Rajput, the Workers Party of Britain candidate in Leeds. He has labelled Israel supporters ‘cryptoJews’, and accused them of abetting the ‘great satan king in Israhell’. He is far from alone. Others backed by TMV have been responsible for disseminating conspiracy theories, such as that 7 October was an inside job and that the war in Gaza is primarily about oil and gas.

TMV is not just backing dubious candidates; it is also trying to demonise its opponents. It has even denounced Muslims who canvass for Labour as ‘parasites’.

TMV’s willingness to back dubious figures should hardly surprise us. As the Sunday Times investigation reveals, TMV is supported by Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB). These two organisations were explicitly named in parliament in March as likely to fall foul of the UK government’s new definition of extremism.

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