British Muslims ‘feel betrayed’ as Sunak and Starmer both refuse calls for Gaza ceasefire

Muslim communities in the UK have shared their concerns as Labour MP quits front bench over party’s refusal to call for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war, Maryam Zakir-Hussain reports

British Muslims feel let down by both sides of the political divide (PA)

British Muslim communities have said they feel “betrayed” by the government and the Labour Party over the UK’s response to the war in Gaza.

Despite widespread pleas to demand a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza reportedly exceeds 10,000, Rishi Sunak has not only refused to do so but sacked a Tory MP calling for one. Home secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of stirring up division as she persistently brands pro-Palestine protests “hate marches” and “mobs”.

Sir Keir Starmer has also attracted criticism for refusing to call for a ceasefire, and this week one of his frontbenchers quit over the Labour leader’s stance. Imran Hussain MP, who has been on Labour’s frontbench for almost eight years, said he felt “deeply troubled” by the Labour leader’s much-criticised interview on LBC.

Sir Keir Starmer faced criticism from the South Wales Islamic Centre mosque for his representation of their visit amid controversy over his stance on Israel-Gaza (Labour Party)

Sir Keir sparked outrage soon after the 7 October attacks that reportedly left 1,400 people dead in Israel, after comments suggesting Israel had the right to cut off water and energy to Gaza. He clarified his views 10 days later, insisting: “I was not saying that Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines.”

But the damage appeared to be done; a recent survey by Muslim Census of 29,000 responses suggests 66 per cent of Muslim voters would no longer back Labour in the next general election.

Dr Haitham Al-Haddad, chair of the Fatwa Committee for The Islamic Council of Europe, told The Independent Muslim communities feel “disappointed and disheartened” by the government’s attitudes towards the invasion in Gaza.

“It is not just because we are talking about Palestinians or Muslims,” he said. “But we are talking about human beings and children who have been killed in front of the entire world.”

Over 500,000 people are expected to take to the streets of London on Saturday to march for Palestine (EPA)

Speaking about the protests, he added: “This is what the people want and the government are not listening. If the government does not take this matter seriously, then people will not believe in British values and they will not believe in democracy. They will say it is not democracy, it is hypocrisy.”

Yunus Dudhwala, an Imam in East London, said the “catastrophic devastation carried out by the Israeli Government has been given the green light by our government, without any condemnation or accountability to international humanitarian law.

“More than 10,000 Palestinians have died, nearly 5,000 of those children, and 3,000 women, and our government still does not call for a ceasefire,” he said. “Muslim communities in the UK are asking, ‘Do Muslim lives matter?’

There has now been a seven-fold increase in anti-Muslim incidents in one month since 7 October, according to Tell MAMA, a charity which records them. With tensions high, antisemitic attacks in London have increased by 1,353 per cent as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Metropolitan Police has said.

The imam said that many in the community believe the rise in Islamophobia “is being spurred on by the deliberate use of divisive language used by some senior politicians”, leaving British Muslims to question if they will be protected equally.

Dr Al-Haddad added that he is worried about the “dangerous polarisation” that has arisen in the last month.

“What really worries me now is that the Muslim communities have completely lost trust in the leadership and the establishment,” he said. “George Bush said after 9/11, ‘You’re either with us or against us’- that polarisation is happening again, maybe we’re already past it.

“I don’t know how will people react once they feel they have been failed by their government or the international community. I don’t know if the establishment is taking this seriously or not.”

Hassan Kamal, a British Palestinian who has lived in the UK for 40 years, echoed this sentiment as he said the government’s “deafening silence” has left him feeling like a second-class citizen.

“I’ve lived here for 40 years but I feel increasingly that Britain is not my country anymore,” the 55-year-old data architect said. “This isn’t what I want for my children.”

Tasib Mughal, a 57-year-old from Nottingham, said the government’s rhetoric- particularly during Islamophobia Awareness Month- has been a “wake-up call”, but he said he “isn’t going anywhere”.

“This is the earth that we will be buried in, but it’s disappointing that the political classes have betrayed the Muslim communities.”

Hassan Kamal says the UK’s response has left feeling like a ‘second-class citizen’ (Supplied)

Manchester City councillor Amna Abdullatif was one of the first councillors to resign from the Labour Party, but she says she has yet to receive any email from an MP or from the national Labour Party regarding her resignation. More than 30 Labour councillors have now quit the party and more than 330 local leaders have urged him to back down.

“Not a single word after spending a decade in the Labour Party campaigning,” she said. “This is the treatment that many of us who have resigned have faced.”

Cllr Amna Abdullatif says Muslims are ‘very connected to what happens in Palestine’ (Supplied)

“This conflict is not a Muslim issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Oxford city councillor Shaista Aziz added. “But the Muslim and Jewish communities are being disproportionately impacted by rising levels of islamophobia and antisemitism.

“British Muslims are hurt by this. We are ignored, patronised, smeared with being antisemitic and being hateful.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “Labour fully understands calls for a ceasefire. Everybody wants to see an end to this cycle of violence and suffering, we need to see hostages released and aid getting to those most in need.

“But a ceasefire now will only freeze this conflict and would leave hostages in Gaza and Hamas with the infrastructure and capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October 7.

“International law must be followed at all times and innocent civilians must be protected. Labour is calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting.

“This is the best and most realistic way to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and is a position shared by our major allies, in the US and the EU.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “We continue to call for international humanitarian law to be respected and civilians to be protected.

“As a society and as a government we believe in - and stand fully behind - the British values of democracy, rule of law, respect and tolerance, and individual liberty.

“Since 7 October, we have remained in frequent contact with police, local authorities, CST, Tell Mama, faith groups and other civil society partners, pressing the need for calm, measured responses and offering our full support.”