Over the last few days, we’ve been considering the manner in which iEngage has conducted itself. iEngage hopes to be appointed the Secretariat of the APPG on Islamophobia. Despite the opposition of the APPG’s first chairs – Lord Janner and Kris Hopkins – who resigned when it became clear that Jack Straw, Sadiq Khan, Stephen Timms and Simon Hughes appear determined to retain this body’s services.
Yesterday, we demonstrated that iEngage’s major target is Muslim liberals and progressives, and opponents of hate preachers and Islamist political parties. Today we will consider some of those hate preachers and Islamist political parties which iEngage defends.
Before we start, let’s look very quickly at one of its “Trustees“: Mohammed Ali Harrath.
Mohammed Ali Harrath is a founder of the Tunisian Islamic Front, a radical Islamist group linked to An Nahda, a Tunisian Islamist party led by Rashed al-Ghannoushi, and aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood. He has told The Times:
“There is nothing wrong or criminal in trying to establish an Islamic state”
Harrath is the Chief Executive of the Islam Channel. The Islam Channel has recently been censured by OFCOM, which found that it broadcast views condoning marital rape, encouraging violence against women and describing women who wear perfume as ‘prostitutes’, and unbalanced support for Hamas.
Harrath believes that a Jewish conspiracy controls the United States:
“Look at the Zionists in the United States. There’s not that great number [sic]. The United States is nearly 300 million [sic]. But they have six million Jews living there. Every single one votes and every single one makes sure he influences many votes. And that’s how they command. That’s how it works.” (at 3:46)
It is plainly inappropriate that a group aligned with the worldview of a senior Muslim Brotherhood politician, with views such as these, should be empowered in this manner.
So, who else is iEngage batting for?
Campaigning against the ban on hate preacher, Zakir Naik
Zakir Naik is a hate preacher who was excluded from the United Kingdom by the Home Secretary, Theresa May. The ban was challenged by Naik, but was upheld by the High Court. The Chief Executive Officer of iEngage, Mohammed Asif, wrote to the Home Secretary to protest the exclusion. He sought to link the decision to exclude the hate preacher with Islamophobia:
We would further add that the exclusion order puts at risk the very notion of good community relations in whose defence this move has been justified. There are many Muslims who are appalled at the decision taken to exclude Dr Zakir Naik from the UK all the while groups like the English Defence League terrorise neighbourhoods across the UK chanting obscene anti-Muslim slogans.
Support for the Islamic Education and Research Academy
iEngage published an article promoting a publication by the Islamic Education and Research Academy (“IERA”) entitled “’Perceptions on Islam and Muslims: A study of the UK Population”.
The IERA is an extreme Salafi organisation, whose advisers include three hate preachers, banned from the United Kingdom: Bilal Philips, Hussein Yee and Zakir Naik
Andrew Gilligan has demonstrated that the data contained within the IERA report does not support its conclusions, and overstates hostility to
Islam and Muslims in the United Kingdom.
Defending Hizb ut Tahrir
The politics of iEngage are not precisely the same as those of Hizb ut Tahrir. It criticises the party for its opposition to voting in elections. However, it has also defended Hizb ut Tahrir on a number of occasions.
Ban at Queen Mary
iEngage objected to the banning of Hizb ut Tahrir speakers at Queen Mary, University of London.
Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation
In October 2009, the Telegraph reported that two schools run by the Hizb ut Tahrir linked Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation, were in receipt of £100,000 of public money. The Conservative Party asked the Government to examine the propriety of the funding.
iEngage argued:
The opposition leader David Cameron’s ill-informed remarks will aid only those given to scaremongering and inciting anti-Muslim prejudice. It is risible that David Cameron, Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, and Paul Goodman, shadow communities secretary, (see BBC Newsnight yesterday), should have engaged in their fishing expedition of ‘extremists’ on the same day that news broke that gravestones in the Muslim section of Southern Cemetery in Manchester were desecrated for the third time in as many months. Perhaps those in the Conservative Party so concerned with extremists and the threat to social cohesion might usefully turn their attention to those that actually are threatening community relations in the UK instead of manufacturing demons where none such exist.
It is clear that iEngage defines Islamophobia as opposition to hate preachers and Islamist political parties. This is certain to be the conclusion that iEngage will urge on members of the APPG on Islamophobia, if its services are retained as the Secretariat to the group.
