Rochdale by-election is referendum on Gaza, says Muslim charity boss

Mohammed Shafiq, CEO of the Ramadhan Foundation, says issue of Palestine will be ‘really powerful’ in the contest

The Rochdale by-election is a “referendum on Gaza”, the boss of a Muslim youth organisation has said.
Mohammed Shafiq, the chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, who is from Rochdale, said that galvanising the Muslim vote on the “single issue of Palestine” would be “really powerful” in the upcoming electoral contest.
Last week, Sir Keir Starmer was forced to withdraw his support for Labour’s candidate in the upcoming Rochdale by-election because of comments he made about Israel and Jewish people.
Azhar Ali, the former candidate for Labour who is now running as an independent, said that Israel had allowed Hamas to attack its citizens in order to get the “green light” to launch an assault on Gaza.
The Labour Party had stuck by Mr Ali, after he issued an apology for the remarks, but Sir Keir was later forced to suspend him when further comments emerged.
Meanwhile, George Galloway, former MP and the Workers Party of Britain candidate for Rochdale, is running on a pro-Palestine ticket.
Mr Shafiq, who is a member of Labour’s ruling NEC, said that any assertions that the upcoming by-election was a referendum on anti-Semitism was “deeply offensive”, and instead suggested it was a referendum on Gaza.
He told BBC Radio 4: “I think that’s deeply offensive to suggest that an election campaign should be fought just on anti-Semitism. What about Islamophobia? What about anti-black racism?
“I think this is a referendum on Gaza. I think this is a referendum on our political establishment and an opportunity for people to participate in a peaceful democratic process.
“I think that’s the key issue that faces voters in my hometown of Rochdale,” he added.
Mr Shafiq also said that a Rochdale candidate “galvanising the Muslim vote on the single issue of Palestine” was going to be “really powerful” in the by-election.
Mr Galloway, himself an ex-Labour MP, has been pictured speaking outside a mosque in Rochdale as part of his campaign, about which he said earlier this week: “I will speak on Gaza first, then Rochdale.”
Speaking about the risk that mosques are being politicised in the lead-up to the by-election, Mr Shafiq said: “I think the mosque in Rochdale made a very clear statement that they are not participating in endorsing any particular candidate and that’s absolutely right, because there are community hubs and places of worship.
“But outside the mosque, yeah, absolutely, there are candidates, well there’s only one candidate here that I’ve seen galvanising the Muslim vote on the single issue of Palestine and that is going to be something which is really powerful.”
Mr Shafiq also said that he had known Mr Ali for several years, and that the comments that emerged this week were “something which you wouldn’t imagine him saying”.
He suggested that the former Labour candidate had made the comments to appeal to the Muslim vote in Rochdale.
“You want to appeal to your base, in this case, Muslims, you then come up with some wacky, offensive anti-Semitic comments that we’ve seen from him. And I think that’s deeply, deeply wrong, because again, it takes focus away from what is happening.”
Mr Shafiq described people as being “very, very angry” that British Muslims “have been labelled as anti-Semitic” or “somehow endorse” the rise in anti-Semitism.
“That’s so far from the truth. We were deeply pained. I think anti-Semitism is absolutely evil and wrong, an affront to our society.
“There’s no two ways about that, there’s no two opinions about that and we should be absolutely clear that anybody who’s engaged in anti-Semitism is not a friend of the Muslim community.”