Earlier this year, on 18 April 2018, CMF Executive Member and Chair of CMF Youth Cllr Hashim Bhatti helped the think tank Forward Thinking to organise an event in Parliament to encourage younger ethnic minority individuals to consider getting more involved with politics. CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin and CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey also attended the event.

The event was not party political, and featured speakers from across the political spectrum.

The speakers were:

• Nusrat Ghani MP (Conservative): Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport.
• Dominic Grieve QC MP (Conservative): MP for Beaconsfield since 1997. He has served as Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland from May 2010 to July 2014, in addition to Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
• Councillor Salma Arif (Labour): One of the youngest councillors to be elected to Leeds City Council with over 70% of the vote.
• Councillor Hashim Bhatti (Conservative): The first British Pakistani to be selected by the Conservative Party in Windsor for the local council elections and Chair of the youth wing of the Conservative Muslim Forum.
• Councillor Magid Magid (Green):  A British-Somali who was the youngest-ever, and the first Green Party councillor to be elected Lord Mayor of Sheffield.
• Tara Hussain (Liberal Democrats): At just 22 years old, an aspiring local politician who ran as a Local Council candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Tower Hamlets, East London.

 
Forward Thinking have since published a short write-up of the event on their website. There is also a five page summary of the discussions available for download.

On Thursday 14 June, CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin and CMF Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman met with Bob Blackman MP in his Parliamentary office.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the circumstances of Mr Tapan Ghosh’s visit to Parliament on 18 October 2017 when he spoke at an event. Mr Blackman sponsored a room for the event organiser.

Mr Zaman explained to Mr Blackman that when British Muslims are concerned by any actions of any Conservatives, they expect, quite reasonably, that the CMF will look into their concerns and respond.

Our goal with such concerns is to act as a bridge between British Muslims and the Conservative Party, thereby pre-emptively addressing issues that may need to negative publicity for the Party. Our overall goal is to increase the willingness of Muslims to vote Conservative. Also, by demonstrating the Party’s overall inclusiveness, to increase the willingness of other voters to support the Party.

That was why Mr Amin had written to Mr Blackman after being approached by a Muslim journalist about the event at which Tapan Ghosh had spoken.

Mr Blackman explained that on the afternoon of Wednesday 18^th October 2017, he was the Parliamentary sponsor of two separate events in Parliament that took place simultaneously:

1. A Diwali Reception which was held on the House of Commons Riverside Terrace.
2. A meeting held in House of Commons Committee Room 12 organised by the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK), “NCHTUK” an organisation well known to Mr Blackman.

Mr Blackman split his time between each event.

It was event (2) at which Mr Ghosh spoke. Mr Blackman explained that he was not involved in selecting or approving the speakers for event (2); he had left that to NCHTUK. Indeed, he had never heard of Mr Ghosh before 18 October 2017.

On the day, Mr Blackman was present in the meeting while Mr Ghosh was being introduced, but Mr Blackman then left and was not present during Mr Ghosh’s talk or the rest of event (2).

Although Mr Blackman had previously been unaware of Mr Ghosh or his views, after learning about Mr Ghosh’s views Mr Blackman had confirmed in his Parliamentary answer to Naz Shah MP on 26 October 2017 that Mr Blackman, and also NCHTUK, did not agree with or endorse the views that Mr Ghosh had expressed prior to 18 October 2017. The relevant extract from Hansard in on the CMF website page at this link.

Mr Blackman confirmed to Mr Amin and Mr Zaman that Mr Ghosh will never be invited to attend any event in Parliament, or elsewhere, which is sponsored by Mr Blackman unless Mr Ghosh repudiates the views regarding Muslims that he has previously expressed.

Mr Blackman informed Mr Amin and Mr Zaman of his strong relations with Muslim organisations within his constituency of Harrow East. He mentioned the following:

The meeting also discussed why there had been no response from Mr Blackman to Mr Amin’s communications that led to the CMF adding to its website the page at this link.

Mr Zaman pointed out that if Mr Blackman had responded to our initial communications, it would hopefully have been possible to address the issues very quickly.

Mr Blackman explained the member of staff that Mr Amin had spoke with on 8 November 2017 had left his employment in between. She had not raised Mr Amin’s phone call and related email with Mr Blackman. Nor had he seen the hard copy of Mr Amin’s letter of 16 December 2017 to Sir Patrick McLouglin; it was possible that if the letter arrived in his office his staff may have concluded that no action was required as the letter itself was not addressed to Mr Blackman. Nor had Conservative Party Chairman Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP contacted Mr Blackman about the matter.

Hence the lack of response to Mr Amin.

Mr Amin explained that, at present, due to the coverage the Tapan Ghosh incident has had in the media, and the limited communication from Mr Blackman, some British Muslims had questioned Mr Blackman’s relationship with the community. That was not consistent with the relationship between Mr Blackman and Muslims in Harrow East that Mr Blackman had informed us of during the meeting.

Mr Amin informed Mr Blackman that as CMF Chairman he would like to invite Mr Blackman to attend as his guest the CMF Eid Reception planned for Wednesday 24 October 2018, and to be one of the speakers.

Our website page “Bigots who promote hatred against any religious group have no place in Parliament” gave the background to the visit of Mr Tapan Ghosh from India to an event in Parliament hosted by Bob Blackman MP on 18 October 2017.

All of the members of the Conservative Muslim Forum are members of the Conservative Party, as of course is Mr Blackman. We are extremely conscious of Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”

Accordingly, on the page above, we limited ourselves to the least we could say about Mr Blackman in the circumstances:

“Despite several reminders, Mr Blackman has not responded in any way to our correspondence. Nor has he met with us.

We do not wish to speculate about Mr Blackman’s motives for ignoring us.

However, we consider this to be disappointing behaviour by a Member of Parliament, and not an appropriate way to behave with fellow Conservatives.”

This matter came up again following the interview that CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin gave to The Independent newspaper on 5 June 2018. The newspaper used this interview to write their article “Conservatives hoping Islamophobia issue ‘will magically go away’, warns senior party activist.”

It is clear from the story that after interviewing Mr Amin, The Independent also interviewed Mr Blackman and asked him about Mr Tapan Ghosh. While responding to the newspaper, Mr Blackman made some comments which the newspaper reported as follows.

“Mr Blackman told The Independent: “I have found an email from the Conservative Muslim Forum to which I thought my office had replied. If they would still like to meet, I ask they telephone my office to make an appointment.””

We have no reason to believe that the newspaper has reported Mr Blackman’s comments inaccurately.

Any newspaper reader would reasonably conclude from Mr Blackman’s comments that:

• The CMF’s sole communication with Mr Blackman was to send one email.
• The CMF did not follow up with Mr Blackman.

As this would leave the newspaper’s readers with a wholly inaccurate understanding, the CMF Executive has decided to itemise the communications that took place in the five months between 19 October 2017 when the Tapan Ghosh visit took place and 28 March 2018 when the CMF published its website piece linked above.

This will enable readers to draw their own conclusions regarding the accuracy of Mr Blackman’s comments to The Independent newspaper.

Mohammed Amin email to Bob Blackman on 6 November 2017 at 10:55

Dear Bob

I will keep this email brief, as I am conscious that anything in writing is capable of leaking.

I would like to meet with you to discuss what you are going to say in public about the event you hosted where Tapan Ghosh spoke.

At present, the CMF has not make any public pronouncement itself, although Lord Sheikh, who is our President, has issued a couple of press releases of his own. I can let you have copies if you have not seen them.

Before the CMF says anything in public, I would like to meet with you.

Please could you have your PA telephone me to discuss diaries.

Regards

Amin

Mohammed Amin email to CMF executive on 8 November 2017 at 10:40

When I sent my email to Bob Blackman MP on Monday, it was after ringing his Parliamentary Office and only getting voicemail.

Having not had any response to my email, apart from the standard automatic confirmation of receipt, I rang Bob’s office again today.

I got one of his members of staff. I told her that I had not received a reply to my email yet, which she indicated was not unusual. (Obviously I am aware that MPs get deluged in email.)

I explained to her what the email was about, and that I wanted to meet with Bob this week or next.

I also stressed that this was not an issue that Bob could ignore and that the approach Bob took would influence what approach the CMF took.

She was left in no doubt of the seriousness of the issue, and I am sure that the email will be put in front of Bob almost immediately.

What happens next is of course up to him. If we get no response at all, we will take that non-response into account.

Regards

Amin

[Mr Amin recalls clearly that during the telephone conversation the member of staff fished up the email on her computer, but he did not mention that fact in his contemporaneous email to his CMF Executive colleagues as it was not material.]

16 December 2017

Mohammed Amin posted a physical letter to Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP, who was then Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Physical copies of this letter were posted to Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Leader, The Conservative Party and to Bob Blackman MP at his House of Commons address.

We do not wish to publish the letter but have reproduced below the final four paragraphs:

“As you would expect, many British Muslims have approached the CMF and approached individual members of our Executive asking what the CMF is going to do about the Conservative Party hosting Mr Ghosh in Parliament. (While the action was that of one MP, it is seen as the action of the Party.)

An issue like this, involving someone like Mr Ghosh who propagates venomous hatred of Muslims, is not something that we can ignore. However, unlike some organisations we do not believe in knee-jerk responses. That is why I wrote to Bob asking him to meet me, before the CMF issues a public statement. The request to meet has fallen on deaf ears.

We cannot wait any longer and will issue a public statement on the matter by mid-January. It is not yet drafted, since I am still hopeful that Bob can be persuaded to help us to make the statement as good as possible by sharing his thoughts with us in a meeting. That is why I have written to you.”

Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP physical letter of 24 January 2018 to Mohammed Amin

Mr Lewis wrote to Mr Amin. While this letter was not sent to Mr Blackman as far as we are aware, it helps readers to be aware of this letter as part of the chronology.

An extract from this letter was quoted on our website page about Tapan Ghosh linked above.

20 January 2018

CMF Executive Member Mike Mogul represented the CMF at an event running from 14:00 to 18:00 at The Philbeach Hall, 51 Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court, SW5 organised by Kensington Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives. Mr Blackman was one of the speakers at this event.

During that afternoon, Mr Mogul took the opportunity to have a private conversation with Mr Blackman about the visit of Mr Ghosh to Parliament on 19 October 2017. Mr Blackman gave his explanation of the visit, which was essentially the same as he gave in Parliament on 26 October 2017 as reported on our website page linked above.

Mr Mogul reminded Mr Blackman that he still needed to write back to Mr Amin and Mr Blackman confirmed to Mr Mogul that he would do so.

Meeting 8 February 2018 at 11:00

Mohammed Amin and CMF Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman met with Mr Lewis and one of his CCHQ colleagues in his office at CCHQ.

The meeting was wide-ranging but included a discussion about Mr Bob Blackman’s complete failure to respond to the CMF in any way regarding Mr Tapan Ghosh. Mr Lewis indicated that he would contact Mr Blackman and ask him to respond to us.

We assume that Mr Lewis did so, but have no actual knowledge either way.

28 March 2018

Having decided that we could wait no longer for Mr Blackman to respond to us, the CMF published the website page linked above.

Our comments about Mr Blackman on that page are repeated above. Readers who are not members of the Conservative Party may consider that our comments about Mr Blackman were exceptionally mild, but that demonstrates the extent to which we follow the Eleventh Commandment.

A further illustration of our reluctance to criticise a fellow Conservative is that we did not share our website page linked above using our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or draw it to the attention of the media.

The Executive Committee of the Conservative Muslim Forum met earlier today.

It unanimously resolved to send an open letter to the Leader of the Party, which is reproduced below.

Letter to the Leader of the Conservative Party

4 June 2018

Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Leader
The Conservative Party
Conservative Campaign Headquarters
4 Matthew Parker Street
London
SW1H 9HQ

Dear Mrs May

As you will know, last week the Muslim Council of Britain called upon our Party to hold an independent inquiry into Islamophobia (generally understood to mean anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Muslim prejudice) within the Party.

Since then, Conservative peers The Rt Hon Baroness Warsi and Lord Sheikh have supported the request for such an inquiry.

The Conservative Muslim Forum (CMF) avoided any public comment until the Executive Committee was able to meet, which it did earlier this evening. The Executive Committee unanimously concluded that it is essential that the Party should hold such an inquiry and resolved to send you this open letter.

We will be happy to provide any assistance that the inquiry may require.

Yours sincerely

Mohammed Amin
Chairman
Conservative Muslim Forum

Sources mentioned in the above letter

Muslim Council of Britain’s letter

The Muslim Council of Britain’s letter to the Party Chairman can be found on the MCB website at this link.

Subsequently on 26 June the MCB sent a second letter to the Party Chairman which is at this link.

Lord Sheikh’s letter

Lord Sheikh’s open letter can be found on the Guardian newspaper website at this link.

The Annex to Lord Sheikh’s letter contains a number of links. We have reproduced that Annex here so that readers can follow the links.

Annex of media coverage on the Muslim Council of Britain’s call for an urgent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative party

Includes all the main news sites, with the Independent starting last night, breaking the story & Guardian ending today finding examples of Tories who have personally experienced this – more coming tomorrow

Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/islamophobia-tory-party-uk-conservatives-muslims-inquiry-a8376516.html?amp&__twitter_impression=true

and

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/conservatives-islamophobia-labour-antisemitism-racism-party-mps-corbyn-may-a8377856.html?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/05/31/tories-urged-launch-independent-inquiry-islamophobia/

Mirror

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/muslim-council-britain-calls-tories-12625235

Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/31/muslim-council-calls-for-inquiry-into-conservative-party-islamophobia

and

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/31/muslim-leaders-urge-investigation-into-tory-islamophobia-claims

and

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/31/inferred-wasnt-british-tory-members-tell-islamophobia

Times

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/458440c4-64e2-11e8-9092-dbb5f656af2a

Politics Home

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/social-affairs/discrimination/news/95589/major-muslim-group-accuses-tories-failing-act

Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5790755/Muslim-Council-Britain-demands-inquiry-Tory-Islamophobia.html

Reuters

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-politics-conservatives/tories-urged-by-muslim-group-to-tackle-islamophobia-idUKKCN1IW0XD

Sun

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6418861/jeremy-corbyn-has-anti-semitic-views-says-jewish-leader-which-could-drive-jews-out-of-britain-if-he-becomes-pm/

Broadcast – all the main news channels

BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44311092

and

https://twitter.com/VictoriaLIVE/status/1002110853515128832

Sky

https://news.sky.com/story/muslim-council-of-britain-calls-for-inquiry-into-tory-islamophobia-11390371

ITV

http://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain/news/tory-islamophobia-claims

and

https://twitter.com/GMB/status/1002077077057646592

LBC

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/muslim-council-of-britain-calls-for-inquiry-i/

and

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/iain-dale/baroness-warsi-prepared-inquiry-tory-islamophobia/

On Sunday 21 April 2018, Islington Conservatives held an event to:

(1) Showcase Mr Muhammad Kalaam one of our three Conservative candidates for St Peters ward on Islington Council.

(2) Enable local voters to hear from CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin why he is a Conservative, and why they should vote Conservative in the impending local elections.

Mr Amin’s 13-minute speech was recorded, and you can listen to it below. Lower down is the flyer used to promote the event.

On 18 October 2017, Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, hosted in Parliament an event organised by the National Council of Hindu Temples (UK).

Harrow East is a very diverse constituency, and the 2011 Census gives its religious breakdown as follows:

One of the speakers, apparently the keynote speaker, was Tapan Ghosh, the founder of Hindu Samhati, a far-right nationalist group in West Bengal. His speech was recorded, and is on YouTube. You can watch the 20-min video below:

In the video, Mr Ghosh promotes hatred of Indian Muslims.

His speech follows the classic inflammatory ploy of alleging that what is actually an overwhelming national majority (here the Hindus of India) is threatened by what is actually a small minority (the Muslims of India.) Mr Ghosh also boasts of building up a 100,000 strong paramilitary force of Hindu volunteers.

A look at Mr Ghosh’s Twitter Feed and the website of his organisation Hindu Samhati will leave readers in no doubt about his deplorable views which promote hatred of Muslims. A good place to start is to read what his website says about his visit to Parliament.

It is quite obvious that a man who propagates such views should never have been allowed into the UK, let alone into Parliament.

QUESTION IN PARLIAMENT

On 26 October 2017 the matter was raised in Parliament by Naz Shah MP. The text below is copied from Hansard:

Naz Shah (Bradford West) (Lab)

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have informed the hon. Member concerned—the hon. Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman)—that I intended to raise this matter.

According to many of today’s news outlets, the hon. Gentleman hosted anti-Muslim extremist Tapan Ghosh in Committee Room 12 last Wednesday.

Mr Ghosh holds abhorrent views, is on record calling on the United Nations to control the birth rate of Muslims and praising the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Burma, and also said that Muslims should be forced to leave their religion if they come to a western country. Only this Monday, Mr Ghosh was pictured with UK far-right extremist leader Tommy Robinson.

It is incredible to me that any Member would think it acceptable to host a meeting ​with this individual, let alone invite him to the House of Commons.

Mr Deputy Speaker, would you please advise us all on our responsibilities to protect everything that this House stands for, and not to allow it to be used as a platform to propagate and legitimise hate and extremist views?

Mr Deputy Speaker

Bob Blackman, do you want to come in?

Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)

I do, Mr Speaker. I thank the hon. Lady for notifying me that she was going to raise this point of order. She has inadvertently misled the House. Let me be clear: I did not invite Tapan Ghosh to the House of Commons.

I hosted, in my capacity as chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for British Hindus, two functions last Wednesday, which Tapan Ghosh attended. One was the annual Diwali celebration on the House of Commons Terrace, which a number of hon. and right hon. Members attended. Subsequently, in the evening, we had the launch by the National Council of Hindu Temples of a report into Hindu minority rights in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Tapan Ghosh was invited by the National Council of Hindu Temples to attend that meeting and present evidence of physical attacks, rapes, forced marriages and forced conversions that have taken place in West Bengal and other places. I have made clear, and the National Council of Hindu Temples has made clear, that it was only in that capacity—as presenting that evidence—that that individual was invited to this House.

He made no abhorrent remarks at the meeting, and I am quite clear that I and the National Council of Hindu Temples do not agree with the views he previously stated. We do not accept them, and we do not endorse them in any shape or form, but it is right that this House has the opportunity, and that Members have the opportunity, to hear evidence from people of what is happening in other countries.

Mr Deputy Speaker

It might help if I give you some of the facts about where the House stands. Obviously, I thank the hon. Lady for notice of the point of order, and I also thank the hon. Gentleman for clarifying his position.

The Speaker’s principal responsibility for access to this estate by members of the public relates to security, in which I have a particular role. Subject to that, it is ​open to an hon. Member to see who they wish, and we all value the exercise of the right of free speech here on the estate and elsewhere. We do not control the views of those who visit here. All hon. Members will inevitably hold meetings with individuals whose views they do not share.

That said, I want to place firmly on the record the abhorrence that I know is shared by all colleagues of all racism and bigotry. Such views have no place here. On the eve of International Freedom of Religion or Belief Day, I know that all colleagues want to do everything possible to foster tolerance and respect.

WHAT THE CMF HAS DONE

Our approach is to ensure that we have all the facts and that we have communicated with the relevant people before we go public. Hence the delay of five months between the incident and our publishing this website page.

In the intervening period, we have corresponded with the Party Chairman and with Mr Blackman.

(1) The Party Chairman

Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis MP has replied to our correspondence in writing and has met with CMF Chairman Mohammed Amin and CMF Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman.

While the correspondence was private, we are confident that Mr Lewis will have no objection to our reproducing below part of his reply to us:

“As a party, we are incredibly proud of the huge contribution that British Muslims, and people of Muslim origin, make to all walks of life in the United Kingdom. I know how much they help enrich our successful multi-race and multi-faith democracy. We are proud that Nus Ghani, a Conservative, became the first Muslim woman to speak from the dispatch box earlier this month.

The Conservative Party profoundly disagrees with Mr Ghosh’s views on Islam. We are clear that hate speech has no place anywhere in society. Indeed, whilst freedom of speech is a vital part of British society, there is a responsibility not to spread hatred or fear. If anyone is found to be using freedom of speech as an excuse to break the law, then they should face the full force of the law.

The Conservative Government has been committed to challenging those who preach hatred and to confronting the spread of divisive and poisonous ideology, and we have a strong record in doing so. Whilst Home Secretary, the Prime Minister excluded more extremist hate preachers coming to the UK than any previous Home Secretary. Since May 2010 the Government has excluded 110 individuals from the UK on the grounds of unacceptable extremist behaviour.

We utterly condemn anti-Muslim prejudice in any form. The Government has taken a number of steps to tackle it, including through the anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, the cross-Government Hate Crime Strategic Group, and the Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime – all of which include a number of representatives from Muslim organisations that actively tackle anti-Muslim hatred.

In his statement in the House of Commons on 26 October 2017, Bob Blackman MP explained the details surrounding Tapan Ghosh’s visit to Parliament. In addition, he stated clearly that neither he, nor the National Council of Hindu Temples, accept or endorse Tapan Ghosh’s views in any shape or form.”

(2) Bob Blackman MP

Despite several reminders, Mr Blackman has not responded in any way to our correspondence. Nor has he met with us.

We do not wish to speculate about Mr Blackman’s motives for ignoring us.

However, we consider this to be disappointing behaviour by a Member of Parliament, and not an appropriate way to behave with fellow Conservatives.

Had we been able to meet with Mr Blackman, we would have asked him a number of supplemental questions regarding his response in Parliament to Naz Shah which is quoted above.

We also encourage Mr Blackman to be more careful in future when acting as a Parliamentary host, to ensure that speakers with unacceptable views do not attend events for which he is ultimately responsible.

During the 2017 Conservative Party Conference, the CMF stand in the Party Zone in the exhibition was adjacent to the stand of Northern Ireland Conservatives. During the conversations between the teams manning the respective stands, the CMF was invited to visit Northern Ireland.

The CMF decided to organise such a trip for two reasons:

1. We are keen to encourage Muslims in all parts of the UK to support the Conservative Party. While the Muslim population of Northern Ireland is relatively small, we considered that we could make a difference.
2. Most of us had not previously been to Northern Ireland and regarded this as an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the current situation just over 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement.

For practical reasons, the invitation to take part in the trip was limited to members of the CMF Executive, all of whom would bear their own costs.

It took place over the four days Saturday, 24 March 2018 – Tuesday, 27 March 2018. The participants were:

1. Lady Sheikh.
2. Councillor Hashim Bhatti.
3. Shaheen Thantrey, CMF Executive Secretary.
4. Tahara Amin.
5. Mohammed Amin.

Two other members of the Executive had booked and paid for their non-refundable flights and hotel rooms but were unable to travel. Doctor Anwara Ali had been selected as Conservative candidate for Mayor of Tower Hamlets and could not leave her campaign. Attic Rahman was also a Council candidate in Newham as well as having an urgent professional reason to remain in London.

Below are details of some of the group’s activities.

Vehicle tour of Belfast on 24 March

This tour went around some of the main tourist sites in Belfast. Particular emphasis was given to the dividing lines between the Nationalist and Unionist communities, and the many murals that can be found along the so-called “peace walls.”

Islamic Centre in Newtownards 1700 on 24 March

This is a relatively recently established mosque in Newtownards. We were received by about a dozen members of the mosque, both men and women, including several members of the executive committee led by the chairman.

On the positive side, they informed us of the strong support that they have received from local governmental organisations and local religious groups. However, on the negative side they mentioned that they have suffered from many instances of low-level religious bigotry from local residents. The point was made that during “the troubles”, Protestants and Catholics concentrated on hating each other. Sadly, as that hatred had subsided after the Good Friday Agreement, some members of both Christian communities had transferred their inherent animosity towards Muslims.

Once the Newtownards Muslims had explained their situation in detail, Mohammed Amin addressed the group and took questions. His key message was to emphasise the need for the mosque to build alliances with all local government officials and elected representatives (especially since a mosque must be politically neutral) and with religious leaders from all local faith communities. This should be done even when there was no crisis, so that reserves of collective religious cohesion existed to be drawn upon when problems arose.

Amin also recommended an active programme of outreach to the local community, not with a view to proselytization but to break down the “fear factor” that exists when people have negligible knowledge of Islam and Muslims. In that regard, the mosque is considering taking part in next year’s “Visit My Mosque Day” and Amin strongly encouraged this.

Dinner at Bangla Bangor Restaurant in Bangor, evening of 24 March

After the formal encounter at the mosque, the CMF delegation was hosted for dinner in a Bangladeshi restaurant by some of the Newtownards Muslims. This enabled a continuation of the discussions in a more informal environment.

Guided tour of Londonderry, 25 March

On Sunday 25 March, the delegation engaged in some sightseeing along the northern coastal route including the Giants Causeway.

They then had a guided tour of Londonderry, which concentrated on pointing out some of the major landmarks from the Troubles. These were sites which the delegates had heard about so many times in the past, including the site of the Bloody Sunday killings, that which acquired a new vividness by being seen in person. It was a salutary reminder of how discrimination and divisions can tear apart communities.

Visit to Stormont, 26 March

The group received a guided tour of the Northern Ireland Parliament building and an account of its history, as well as a summary of the current political deadlock.

Visit to Belfast City Hall, 26 March

Before their next formal engagement, the group also visited Belfast City Hall for a guided tour, again gaining a better understanding of the history of Northern Ireland.

Meeting with Northern Ireland Conservatives, 26 March

This meeting took place in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Belfast. It is an illustration of the economic progress of the immigrant community that this hotel is owned by Baron Rana MBE of Malone in the County of Antrim, and we were hosted as his guests.

The Northern Ireland Conservatives delegation was led by their Chairman Alan Dunlop along with Cllr David Harding of Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council (who we understand is the only elected Conservative councillor in Northern Ireland) as well as other members of their leadership group. A number of prominent Northern Ireland Muslims also attended, including the leadership of the Belfast Islamic Centre.

During the speeches, Mohammed Amin shared his views on why the Conservative Party is the natural home for British Muslims, and some of his thoughts on how Conservatives can more effectively campaign for votes from Muslim Britons.

Visit to Belfast Islamic Centre, 26 March

The CMF delegation went on to visit the Belfast Islamic Centre which is the main mosque in Belfast, and therefore the main mosque in Northern Ireland. It is relatively long established. Many of the Muslims involved with the mosque, including the leadership group, are in Northern Ireland for professional reasons being either doctors, academics, or engineers.

Accordingly, they have relatively good connections with many parts of the leadership of the City of Belfast, including many religious groups and political groups. At the same time, there are parts of the religious spectrum and political spectrum which have yet to prove welcoming, but the Belfast Islamic Centre is continuing to emphasise its outreach work.

The Centre is currently fundraising for the construction of a larger mosque and the CMF will see what it can do to assist them.

Free time, 27 March

The final day of the visit was left as free time. Everybody on the delegation visited the Titanic Exhibition. Quite apart from the information provided regarding the construction of the ship itself, the Exhibition contains a wealth of information regarding the entrepreneurial history of Belfast and its thriving economy in the late nineteenth century. This contrasts very strongly with the Belfast economy today which is heavily dependent upon government expenditure. The clear lesson was the economic damage that follows when there is deep division in the community which in turn leads to economically damaging job discrimination and even more damaging political violence in the case of the history of Northern Ireland.

The delegation was left in no doubt regarding the importance of further political progress within Northern Ireland and the need to move away from sectarian politics. In that regard, it is essential for non-sectarian political parties such as the Conservative Party (and indeed also the Labour Party) to establish a stronger position in Northern Ireland. The CMF will do what it can to support that.

The lifeblood of politics is campaigning on the ground.

On Saturday 17 February, the Conservative Muslim Forum joined activists from all over London on a very well attended London East Area Action day which took place in Newham. At one stage 46 people were counted campaigning.

Executive Member Attic Rahman who is also Chairman of the East Ham Conservative Association led a team of dedicated activists and supporters, with his East Ham team canvassing in the Royal Docks where Attic is standing as a Council Candidate in the 2018 borough elections which take place on 3 May 2018. Newham is one of the most ethnically diverse of London boroughs and we are seeing a lot of support for the Conservative Muslim Forum’s work.

Newham is a Labour monopoly borough. However, local Conservatives have built a strong team of dedicated activists who have been campaigning every weekend for the last 18 months.

CMF Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman, met with many activists about the work of the CMF and how we are working with the London Conservatives team, helping Conservative candidates in the borough elections.

In the picture below, from left to right:

1. Khatija Meaby
2. Masbah Khan
3. Bishwajit Bal
4. Ilyas Sharif
5. Bashar Rahman
6. Mufti Nafees
7. CMF Executive Member Attic Rahman
8. CMF Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman
9. Julie D’Costa

On Tuesday 6 February 2018, the charity Women’s Aid held a gala dinner at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London, to commemorate the 100’th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 2018 when some women in the UK were first given the right to vote.

Three ladies from the leadership of the CMF Executive attended. The photo below shows them with a banner honouring Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. She was a promient suffragette, reminding us that women from many different backgrounds and religions fought together for the right to vote.

From left to right:

1. CMF Executive Member Dr Anwara Ali MBE
2. CMF Executive Member Lady Sheikh
3. The banner
4. CMF Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey

Below is a picture of the trio with Women’s Aid Patron Dame Julie Walters CBE, who was the guest of honour at the event.

The photo below shows the glittering dinner panoramically.

One of the key divides in politics is the relative emphasis that people put on the role of the state and the role of the non-state actors, comprising individuals, families, profit seeking companies, and non-profit organisations.

The  European Conservatives and Reformists Group is the grouping within the European Parliament to which our Conservative Party belongs, and it is chaired by London MEP Syed Kamall. He is a great friend of the Conservative Muslim Forum so many of us attended the ECR Global Poverty Summit in Central Hall Westminster on 26 January 2018, which he organised and chaired.

The CMF attendance included:

• Chairman Mohammed Amin
• Deputy Chairman Ash Zaman
• Secretary Faruk Miah
• Executive Member Ajantha Tennakoon
• Executive Member Tahara Amin
• Executive Secretary Shaheen Thantrey

The conference website sets out the theme of the conference, as well as giving details of the glittering array of speakers.

“The ECR Global Poverty Summit, taking place in London on 26th January, is the definitive forum for local non-state organisations challenging the notion that only top-down state solutions can alleviate global poverty.

The ECR Global Poverty Summit, chaired by ECR Group co-Chairman Syed Kamall MEP, will bring together some of the world’s most prominent figures in this area, with the sole aim of generating a report comprising action steps community organisations, philanthropists and others can use to tackle poverty today in Europe and globally.

The European Union, as well as governments around the world, have poured billions of dollars into foreign aid, and yet we still face a serious problem. In 2015, it was estimated that 17.3% of the EU population were at risk of poverty (source: European Parliament) and in the UK 7.3% of the population are classified as experiencing persistent poverty (source: ONS).

Among the agenda items:

• Poverty: The reality and hidden causes;
• Policy-based poverty solutions, and
• How non-state actors and local communities can tackle poverty.”

An event like this is a great opportunity learn things, to listen to inspiring speakers and interact with them, and also to network with the other conference participants.

We congratulate to Syed Kamall and his colleagues for organising it.

Our chairman Mohammed Amin was particularly struck by two of the speakers.

Robert L. Woodson, Sr., founder of the Woodson Center in Washington DC

During his panel session prepared remarks, Mr Woodson made the points below which are copied from his paper “Lessons from the Least of These” which he gave to Mohammed Amin when they spoke briefly after the presentation.

“We cannot generalize about poor people. I have identified four categories of poor people.

1. There are those in Category One whose characters are intact but have who have no money because they have lost a job or a breadwinner has passed away.
2. There are others in Category Two whose whose characters are intact but, as a result of our welfare system’s perverse incentives to stay single and unemployed, conclude that achieving is not worth it.
3. In Category Three, there are people who are disabled and need help, though even in the disabled population, you have people who are discouraging their children to read because they will lose a $600 Supplemental Security Income (SSI) check.
4. Finally, there are those in Category Four, individuals with character deficits who are poor because of the chances they take and the choices they make.

Category Four concerns most of us. Those are the people that, given money and services, are injured by a helping hand.

When we generalize about the poor, we have problems finding solutions for poverty.

People on the Left tend to look at all poor people as if they fall into Category One, while people on the Right tend to look at all poor people as if they fall into category Four.

Therefore, we miss each other when considering remedies. The people in Categories One and Two use the system in the way it was intended, as an ambulance service, not a transportation system. They receive help, but then they move off. Applying the same remedies to Category Four, however, is disabling to those people.”

Michael Tanner, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute, who gave the keynote address

Mohammed Amin has since subscribed to Mr Tanner’s blog Tanner on Policy.

Post Event Updates

On his website, Syed Kamall MEP published a video of the event. A copy is embedded below.