When Hamas terrorists gleefully filmed themselves kidnapping, raping and murdering Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, their actions were accompanied by unmistakable cries of 'Allahu Akbar!'
The same applies to Taliban fighters inside Afghanistanand from Islamic extremists around the world.
The phrase meaning God is great has, I fear, become their battle cry.
So when Mothin Ali, the newly elected Green Party councilor of Leeds, who celebrated his victory with the same victory shout, claims that criticism of his behavior amounts to 'Islamophobia'he is more than a little dishonest.
Yes, for many Muslims it is simply an exclamation of religious fervor, but he must be well aware of the associations these words also have with the survivors and families of the victims of Islamic atrocities, with the Jews of Britain – and with all of us who fear the consequences of terror. rise of religious extremism. They are, as the young people say, a bit of a trigger.
Mothin Ali, the newly elected Leeds City Councilor for the Green Party, celebrated his victory with the victory shout 'Allahu Akbar'
Even a cursory glance at his social media makes it clear that Ali is not a fan of Israel. There's nothing wrong with that – he should be free to express his views, and even Israel's staunchest supporters wouldn't deny that Benjamin Netanyahu has some tough questions to answer.
But Mr Ali appears to have confused his right to freedom of expression with the right to abuse and intimidation.
Shortly after the October 7 attacks, he posted a video on TikTok suggesting the terrorists were justified. And earlier this year he played an important role forcing a rabbi and his family into hiding after attacking him with a series of insults, She called the Jewish chaplain at the University of Leeds, Zecharia Deutsch, a 'creepy', a 'low-life' and an 'animal'.
As this newspaper's Guy Adams reported, Ali falsely claimed that Deutsch had tried to kill women and children in Gaza, leading to an avalanche of anti-Semitic abuse directed at Mr. Deutsch and his family.
Deutsch's home was the target of late-night hateful phone calls; his wife Nava was threatened with rape and their children with torture – and Ali called on Deutsch to lose his job because he was 'slaughtering people' and was a 'far-right radical'.
So Mr. Ali may be many things, but he is certainly not, as he claims, a victim. His Islamic faith must be respected, like all religions. But abusing others is not something to hide behind, nor should it ever be.
Moreover, Mr. Ali is now a politician. He holds public office. He should expect to be investigated and held accountable for his actions. That, I'm afraid, is just the name of the game.
But perhaps more worrying than Mr Ali himself is what he represents. That's the rise of a movement we haven't seen in Britain since the darkest days of the Troubles: the return of sectarianism to politics. It is a very disturbing prospect.
Mr. Ali is just one of many now elected on religious platforms who are openly hostile to Israel and, in some cases, promote bigoted beliefs and values that run counter to the secular liberalism on which this country was built.
Aisha Kouser won more than double the votes of her nearest rival in Oldham after describing herself to voters as a 'vote for Palestine'
Kaleel Khan, who campaigned as a pro-Palestinian independent candidate in the Thameside Council elections in Greater Manchester, defeated long-time Labor leader Dave McNally.
Members of the Blackburn Independents group adopted the Palestinian flag in their recent local election campaign
Where these religious absolutists once lived on the fringes of our political landscape, they are now beginning to enter the mainstream. And most worrying of all, those in a position to oppose it, or at least soften their influence, seem blind to the threat.
Take, for example, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, under whose auspices Ali was elected. When asked about his opinion in a TV interview, she seemed completely unaware of it, saying only that she was “not aware of all the details” and “didn't have the full facts at hand” .
That is simply not good enough. I know many people, especially idealistic young adults, who voted Green in these local elections. Surely they have the right to know whether members of their chosen party support the actions of terrorists?
But by far the most important figure in mainstream British politics with serious questions answer is the man likely to be our next Prime Minister: Sir Keir Starmer
As someone married to a Jewish woman, whose own home was recently targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters in a shameful and terrifying act of intrusion, he will understand the issues at stake here better than most. And yet he has so far failed to take a strong stand.
In particular, he has not yet responded to an extraordinary list of eighteen demands made by a pressure group called the Muslim Vote in return for support in the general election.
Among other things, they want him to apologize for failing to support a ceasefire last fall, imposing sanctions on Israeli politicians and cutting military ties with the country.
Furthermore, they demand that 'Sharia-compliant' pensions (funds that invest in companies that adhere to Islamic financial principles) be made available in every workplace, that all schools and educational institutions must allow Muslim prayers on site, that the definition of Islamophobia must be redefined (so that it effectively becomes a hate crime to challenge the views of someone like Ali).
It is crucial that Starmer meets these demands now. Many of these demands have serious implications for freedom of expression in this country, and many of them – such as the demand to allow Muslim prayer in all schools, for example – run counter to the idea of Britain as a lines secular nation with moderate Christian undertones.
As voters, we need to know what his response is. Especially because it amounts to naked political blackmail. Give us what we want, Sir Keir, or else. That is not how democracy is supposed to work, and it is certainly not how most British people – of all faiths – want it to work.
The problem for Starmer is that he doesn't exactly have the best record when it comes to resisting the demands of dangerous pressure groups.
The Labor leader has only just admitted that men don't have cervixes (I did). lost track of where he is in women with penises). And that's really only because of the resounding public support for the Cass report's findings. But let's not forget that it is in large part due to the moral cowardice of people like him that extreme trans ideology gained such momentum in this country – with devastating consequences, as outlined by Cass.
It was in trying to appease that vocal minority that Starmer and others became complicit in the harm done to young people in the pursuit of the trans political agenda.
If he doesn't pushing back strongly against the demands of Muslim Vote and people like Mr Ali in LeedsStarmer risks making the same mistake again – and not only tacitly condoning the vilification of Jews and anyone who opposes this kind of sectarian, divisive politics, but also alienating the vast majority of voters who do not want their democracy is determined by religion or is determined by a conflict thousands of miles away.
Sir Keir Starmer, the man likely to be our next Prime Minister, must reassure us that he will not give in to the 18 extraordinary demands made by Muslim Vote, says Vine.
Will Sharia-compliant pensions be law under a Labor government? Will it become mandatory for schools to allow Muslim prayers? Will Britain cut ties with Israel (and by extension its other allies)? We need to know, Mr. Keir.
Because the danger is that if he agrees to these demands in exchange for votes, it will not stop there. There are too many Muslim clerics and followers in Britain who have made their position clear publicly and without any doubt: their mission is to establish a caliphate in Britain.
And you only have to look at Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Sudan to see that these people mean business.
Object and you will be branded an Islamophobic. It's a simple ruse, but boy, it works. It worked in Rochdale, with the 'grooming gangs', it has worked on these pro-Palestinian marches, where the police and authorities have been too afraid to upset people's 'cultural sensibilities' to suppress openly anti-Semitic sentiment and where they would rather protect Jewish monuments than guarantee their protection.
Our cultural ambivalence, our open-mindedness, is seen as our weakness, and it will be exploited. High liberalism is no match for staunch sectarianism.
You just need a few useful idiots in key positions (see The Greens and that woman who claps like a trained seal behind Ali in his victory video), people who are too scared – or too politically correct – to speak the truth about what is happening out of fear. is going on. of retaliation, and before you know it you're in a situation where a man is at risk of arrest for being “openly Jewish.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.