Respect councillor leads campaign against grooming

Respect's Bradford council leader Alyas Karmani has written a sermon which will be heard in mosques throughout the country today which will condemn sexual grooming.

The sermon will highlight how the Koran emphasises that Muslims must protect children and the vulnerable. As the BBC reports it......

It was supported by leading Muslim organisations, a spokesman said.

The Muslim Council of Britain, the Mosque and Imams National Advisory Board and the Islamic Society of Britain had all pledged to devote sermons to the issue of sexual grooming, said TAG, a not-for-profit organisation set up to tackle sexual grooming in the UK.

The sermon, written by Alyas Karmani, an imam and youth worker in Keighley, West Yorkshire (and Respect council leader in Bradford) opens with a quotation from the Koran forbidding "sexual indecency, wickedness and oppression of others".

These "disgraceful actions" must be wholeheartedly condemned, it adds.

It finishes with a call for action and reminds Muslims to speak out if they see any "evil action".

Mr Karmani said: "There's a profound disrespect culture when it comes to treating women. One of the reasons we feel this is the case is poor role models.

"Access to pornography, which also objectifies women, is creating a culture where men are now ambiguous when it comes to the issue of violence against women."

Mr Karmani said the sermon was being circulated in an effort to counter what he claimed was a taboo in mosques about talking about sex.

The sermon is the first phase of a "hard-hitting" campaign following a number of high-profile child grooming cases involving Asian men in Bradford, Oxford, Rochdale and Telford.

While sexual grooming and child abuse affected all sections of society and was perpetrated by people of all ethnic groups, the Koran exhorted Muslims to act against evil and injustice and create just societies.

On Thursday, seven men who abused girls as part of a sadistic sex grooming ring based in Oxford were jailed for life at the Old Bailey.

Two of the men were of east African origin and five of Pakistani origin.

Former Labour MP for Keighley Ann Cryer said she was "delighted" by the move, which she said showed the issue was being taken more seriously than in the past.

Ms Cryer said she was approached by mothers worried about grooming in 2002, and was frustrated when police, social services and mosque elders took no action.

"I just hope this message gets beyond the mosque to the non-attenders, because by and large the people who behave like this don't go to the mosque," she said.

Met Police Smear Campaign Against Stephen Lawrence Family: I know I was there. (By Lee Jasper)

The recent revelation by the Guardian newspaper that in 1993, the family of Stephen Lawrence and those campaign groups that supported them were spied upon by police, in an effort to smear and undermine the campaign for justice will no doubt surprise some, not however me.

Former Met undercover police officer Peter Francis says he and others were employed to ‘monitor and smear’ the Lawrence’s and their supporters, including he says a special focus on all of the ‘black justice campaigns’

I have started an e-petition calling for the PM to recall the McPherson Inquiry team to examine these issues. You can sign here. 

As part of the National Black Caucus I had the honour of working with others in those dark days in the immediate aftermath of Stephens’s tragic and sickening murder. I helped organize demonstrations, public meetings and helped orchestrate the political strategy to secure a public inquiry.

The Commissioner back then was on Paul Condon who I knew when he was an inspector. In February 1987 he secured promotion as Deputy Assistant Commissioner in charge of West London.

It was here that our paths crossed in the late 1980's., I was Chair of Mangrove Community Association All Saints Road Notting Hill. Condon was the kind of copper that “Life on Mars” probably based on.

He engaged and was actively involved in leading his officers in a relentless campaign that sought to smear us in the press and falsely criminalize the local black community.

We at the Mangrove experienced this on a daily basis that culminated in the false arrest and imprisonment of the leader of the Mangrove and legendary community father.

The Met and Condon wanted to close down the Mangrove a bastion of black power activists that constantly challenged police corruption, racism and brutality. All thirteen of those arrested in the ‘drugs raid’ were acquitted in…wait for this… thirteen separate consecutive trials, including Frank Crichlow.

Condon himself gave evidence at Franks trail in a desperate effort to have an innocent man jailed. He failed and Frank subsequently received what was at its time the largest civil award settlement on British judicial history.

Under his watch reigned “The Black Watch “ unit operating out of Notting Hill police station a group of police officers that targeted Black youths and planted them with drugs. He was also responsible for swamp policing of the 1987 and 1988 Notting Hill Carnivals that saw brutal policing and disturbances.

So it comes as no surprise that Condon as Commissioner would have engaged in such a despicable campaign to ensure that he Lawrence family and their supporters like me should be smeared and arrested on real or trumped up charges if possible. That was Paul Condon’s modus operandi, his signature move. This was the standard model of policing protest borrowed straight out of the 1960’s US COINTELPRO programme. The Met at the time knew of my very public and high profile involvement in the Lawrence campaign and no doubt hoped that he could finish of the job he failed to complete at the Mangrove.

These new revelations should now be the basis of a new full inquiry and all those surviving or retired officers engaged in the covert Metropolitan Police surveillance of the Lawrence’s and supporters should be thoroughly investigated and where found to have crossed the line face disciplinary or criminal charges. 

The most damming fact is all this information was denied to the McPherson public inquiry and fact quite staggering in its implications. The question to be asked and answered immediately is which police officers were involved in the original surveillance operation and who took the Mets decision not to present this critical information to the inquiry? It is beyond belief that the then Home secretary of the time Jack Straw did not even know about this. The decision to engage in this disgraceful campaign must have been taken at the highest level of the Met Police.

It is not good enough for the Met to say (as they have) that this will now form part of an ongoing general investigation into undercover policing. Neither can Prime Minister David Cameron's call today for a new 'police investigation' misunderstands the serious nature of problem. 

Now I here that Mark Ellison QC is already looking into allegations of police corruption in the initial investigation of the murder and that he will look into this matter. Nobody knows who is he working for and what is his remit and who is he reporting to? This travesty of a response is just more of the same old same old, placate the public so as to make them believe we are doing something. Nobody trust either the Met Police, Boris Johnson or the Independent Police Complaints Commission on this issue.

This is much more serious than that and ought to result in the immediate recall of McPherson Public Inquiry team so that the full detail of what happened and who was involved can be forensically explored.

The Met’s reputation with London’s Black communities is the worst it’s been in my 30 years experience and getting worse every day.  Deaths in police custody, harvesting black peoples DNA, stop and search, the use of the dreaded joint enterprise law, 2011 civil disturbances alongside routine everyday police racism has created a toxic atmosphere in some areas.

Not all of this is entirely the result of police racism. The catalyst for these worsening relationships is result of the malign influence of Boris Johnson and London Tories who from day one of his election actively campaigned to rid the service of the tag of ‘institutional racism’.

To ensure that Boris got his way he ensured the employment of a series of nodding dog Commissioners most of whom did not have the character or strength of will of say a Sir John Steven who was notorious for not entertaining political interference of any kind. The combination of a culture of Tory ideological prejudice against the McPherson recommendations and weak Commissioners has led to this pretty pass.

The Lawrence’s search for justice has always at its root represented a wider public campaign for police accountability. Now that we know the depth of the conspiracy those guilty of crimes and misdemeanors must now face justice or an already toxic relationship between black communities and the Met will become radioactive.

Were women created solely for the purpose of becoming wives & mothers?

I take a deep sigh and brace myself – I know exactly where this conversation is heading. It troubles me to see yet another sister has shifted her entire focus on marriage and motherhood. Of course, marriage is a highly recommended Sunnah and brings many benefits for us spiritually, mentally and physically. But when our struggle and strive overwhelmingly revolves around marriage and motherhood then know that there is a problem in our understanding of the religion.

And what causes an intelligent, hardworking, ambitious single sister to now accept that her goal is simply to be a married woman with children? Since when did the ONLY purpose in life revolve around matrimony and offspring? It begs the question – were women created solely for the purpose of becoming wives and mothers?

God answers this in Chapter 51 (Surah Ad Dhaariyaat) “And I did not create the jinn and humankind except to worship Me.”

Our goal in life is to worship God. This is not to say we sit in prayer all night and day but rather the beauty of Islam is such that (with the correct intention and staying within the Islamic framework) worship takes numerous forms. Being a mother, a daughter, a friend, a student, a public speaker, a poet, a writer, a teacher, a doctor, an artist, a scientist, a political figure, a news correspondent, a blogger, a babysitter, a hair dresser, taking part in discussion and debating can all fall under the umbrella of worship.

Despite this, the community pushes forth another ideology that a truly ‘successful’ person is a married one who quickly progresses to parenthood! The amount of pressure that is applied on Muslims getting ‘hitched’ is not the same as it is on bettering themselves spiritually, improving their character or engaging in political matters. Marriage is only a tool in becoming closer to God it is not the end goal. The purpose of our life is not ONLY to become spouses with children.

Let’s look at some examples of women who thrived in the Deen. The wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her) was a successful business woman with her own caravan trade managing a number of agents. Rufaidah Aslamiyyah was a specialist in medicine and surgery and was known to tend to the sick and injured in the battlefields. Khansa bint Amr was a renowned poetess whose poetry was said that none could match. In fact, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would encourage her to recite more of her poems! Umm Umara was a warrior blessed with many honors. And her most honorable role came during the battle of Uhud where she stood firm fighting against the enemies when others had fled.

Women were also very much involved with politics. They contributed and advised on numerous issues; voicing their opinions and criticizing matters regarding the state. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself would seek advice regarding state matters from his wives. It was Umm Salamah’s consultations that eased the heated situation surrounding the treaty of Hudaibiah whereby the weak terms of the treaty had angered the companions. Similarly Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would often consult Shifa bint Abdullah; an intellectual and scholastic woman in certain matters.

Another academic and competent scholar was Fatima bin Qais. Her counsel was sought on the selection of the next Caliph by the nomination committee when Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) died. Amra bint Abdur-Rahman gave legal verdicts in Medina after the time of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) Companions, and some of her opinions took precedence over opinions of other authorities.

Shifa bint Abdullah ibn Shams was appointed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself as the administrator and accountant of the largest market at that time; Medina. She was also later reappointed by Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) during his time of reign as Caliph. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was a female jurist whose rulings are till this day studied in Universities across the globe. Umm Salaam was also known for giving several legal rulings during her time.

The list goes on. And we see from these few examples that Muslim women flourished religiously, academically and politically. They worshipped God through specialising in their fields to defend their religion. They worked to protect the Ummah, they used their knowledge to benefit others and they used their skills for the betterment of society. This is something we can all take heed from male or female; married or single.

“Those scholars who study the role of women in Islam will notice that throughout the different periods of history, women were actively engaged in every field of endeavour, be it politics, government, or learning. Women were not confined, as some have assumed, to mothering and household occupations.” [Salah al-Din al-Munajjid]

Many of us have heard/read the famous Hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him): The Muslim Ummah is like one body. If the eye is in pain then the whole body is in pain and if the head is in pain then the whole body is in pain”. Our bodies, families, friends and neighbours all have specific rights over us but at the same time so do the millions of other people around the Globe. Their welfare is also OUR responsibility whether we are male or female.

Yet, there is an imbalance in determining priorities in the minds of Muslims. We are infatuated in following a self-interested version of Islam whereby our own needs and desires are placed above anyone else’s. And this epidemic has distracted us from the higher purpose in life – worshipping God and following His commands in their entirety. Do we not see that by focusing on fulfilling only a specific segment in Islam we neglect other imperative commands of God? We create an imbalance not only in our lives and religion but also in society affecting the Ummah as a whole.

Let us refrain from exerting all our focus on only one aspect of our lives and focus on building our relationship with God instead. Let us learn our religion, let’s embrace opportunities to do Dawah, let us work on our relationships with others, let us improve our spiritual state and let’s help fulfil one of the most important duties of a Muslim – to love, support, defend and protect the Ummah. For nothing, nothing is more tragic then standing in front of our Lord on the Day Of Judgement knowing that we neglected one of the most critical forms of worship…

Beautifully Written by Iram

Galloway fights closure of three museums

George Galloway has put down a parliamentary motion and written to the Secretary of State for Arts and Culture over the threatened closure of three museums, including the National Media Museum in Bradford.

Along with the media museum, two others in the same group - the National Railway Museum in York and the Museum of Science and Industry - are threatened with cuts or closure in the forthcoming spending review. Galloway points out that the three are integral to Britain's cultural heritage, have outstanding records which would be even better with more adequate funding. The closure of the media museum, he went on, would have a devastating effect on attempts to revive Bradford's city centre.

Muslim Response and Woolwich

The murder in Woolwich has shocked everyone; no one was prepared for such a killing on the streets of the UK.  The response has been of disgust and condemnation.  This incident has raised some questions that politicians and the mainstream media have conveniently dodged.  I am disgusted and appalled by what has taken place, but why should I have to apologise for such a crime, it had nothing to do with me.

Why it is that Muslims and Muslim organisations are expected to distance themselves from the actions of two individuals?  Why is it that Muslim organisations do not even need to be prompted to condemn; they are readily condemning actions that have nothing to do with them.  There has been no attempt by Muslim organisations to discuss the causes of the attack, no attempt to question the mainstream media narrative that imposes labels on Muslims. 

Radicalisation is not a religious problem, it is a problem of society, and specifically, in this case, British society. 

George Galloway on Woolwich murder

Uncomfortable lessons from Woolwich attack

“We have forgotten we are at war. We find it perplexing that a British soldier could be killed in our streets, near to a school, on a busy afternoon.

We have forgotten we are at war.

We are prone to suffering violence because our nation has been at war, explicitly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and covertly in numerous other nations. We are still an Imperialistic nation that believes it has a right to be at the ‘top table’, and that we are entitled to deploy our military wherever we like so that we can protect ‘British interests’.

Galloway condemns Woolwich 'atrocity'

Speaking hours after the brutal killing of an off-duty soldier in a Woolwich street George Galloway condemned it as a 'sickening atrocity'.

He added that there could be no excuse for the attack where the soldier, still to be named, was first knocked-down by the attackers' car before being hacked to death. But he pointed out that what happened in London was exactly what 'we are paying people to do in Syria'.

He will speak further about the barbaric killing later tonight on his Comment show on Press TV, which can be watched online.

British government stance on Bangladesh hardens after Galloway question

In response to a question from George Galloway, the British government has called for 'an impartial, transparent, independent investigation' into the ongoing violence in Bangladesh which has resulted in more than 200 deaths.

The Bradford West MP asked the Foreign Secretary what information he had about the killing of peaceful protestors, particularly those taking place in Shapla Square, Dhaka on May 5/6. Foreign office minister Alistair Burt responded that the British government was very concerned about the upsurge in violence and made his appeal to the Bangladesh government to set up the independent inquiry,

'This is almost unprecedented,' said Galloway, 'one government calling on another to set up an arms' length inquiry. The only conclusion you can take is that our government does not trust or believe the Bangladesh government is capable of investigating these state killings. And no wonder, given the brutal murders this foul and corrupt Bangladesh government has been carrying out. 

'Of course, despite the plea, there's not a chance that the Sheikh Hasina regime will comply.'

Galloway again demands MQM leader's British citizenship is withdrawn

George Galloway, in a series of parliamentary questions and a parliamentary motion, has asked the British Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to remove MQM leader Altaf Hussain's British citizenship.

Hussain is currently living in London after successfully applying for citizenship during the tenure of the last Labour government. He says that he fears for his life were he to return to Pakistan.

Galloway asked the government to examine whether the MQM leader should be thrown out of the country after Hussain made a serious of inflammatory broadcasts. However, following the assassination of the vice-president of Imran Khan's party, the PTI, which is blamed on the MQM, Galloway is once again raising Altaf Hussain's status in the British Parliament. Zara Shahid Hussain was shot dead outside her house as Karachi votes in a partial re-run of the Pakistan general election.

Prisoners of Guantanamo Bay

I lie wide awake in this cold cell at night,

Knowing tomorrow I face a brand new fight.

I console myself - it’s going to be alright,

But I already see the tunnel without any light.

Every morning I just don’t want to wake up,

But I force myself to never ever give up.

The evil I see here makes my psyche erupt,

The system in place is so dark and corrupt.

Taunts, torture, abuse and on-going threats,              

They feel no shame, nor have any regrets.

They watch and laugh as I panic and fret,

Then burn holes in my skin with a lit cigarette.

My battered body is screaming out in agony,

Suffocating in here and I’m desperate to breathe.

Every heartbeat is becoming harder to beat,

Every obstacle is becoming harder to defeat.

I’ve had enough and my dying heart bleeds,

Am crying inside and the world cannot see.

I worry of what will happen to my poor family?

My parents, my wife, my baby they suffer greatly.

I stumble in pain with every step that I take,

Every smile on my face is now really just fake.

But the Imaan in my heart will never shake,

They can try all they want but it will never break.

I pray one day this will all come to an end,

The lonely nights will cease to be my best friend.

But if I don’t live to see another year again,

I believe in God’s justice….I’m a winner in the end

By Iram of MPACUK

Galloway calls for the peaceful overthrow of Bangladesh's 'gangster government'

George Galloway called for the peaceful overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government in Bangladesh. Speaking at a huge protest rally in East London, Galloway denounced the massacre of Islamic scholars earlier in the week.

 “Even on the most conservative estimates of the number of people murdered, it exceeds the loss of life in 9/11,” said Galloway.

“This is a game changer as the Americans would say. Bangladesh will never be the same again. This is the beginning of the end of this corrupt, murderous government.” He went on to deny there was now any possibility of free and fair elections in Bangladesh.

“Either they will be fixed by the government or they will be cancelled. That is why the only way we will get the change Bangladesh needs is through people power, a peaceful revolution that will remove this gangster government. The media is now under the almost total control of the Hasina government and in the West there has been an almost total media blackout about the massacre.”

 Galloway added that the British-based Bangladesh TV had boycotted the rally and called on them to do their duty and tell the truth. “I’m against hanging anyone but it’s a fundamental truth in politics that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. There has to be an end of the politics of revenge.”

George also denounced the factory tragedy which has now taken the lives of over a thousand people and urged support for the campaign he launched a week ago to make Western multinationals fully accountable for the working conditions of those in their supply chain.

Galloway to commemorate the Bradford City disaster

George Galloway will join hundreds of mourners tomorrow (May 11) to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Bradford City fire 27 years ago.

Fifty-six people died and at least 265 people were injured. The memorial will take place at Centenary Square at 11am.

The old Valley Parade stadium, the long-established home of Bradford City Football CLub, had been noted for its antiquate design and facilities, including the wooden roof of the main stand. Warnings had also been given about a major build-up of litter just below the seats. Following the fire the stadium was totally rebuilt.

Galloway launches campaign on factory conditions in Bangladesh

George Galloway today launched a campaign for western governments to penalise multinational companies which produce directly or buy from companies in developing countries if they don't take due precautions to ensure workers are producing in safe conditions. This follows the disaster in Bangladesh where more than 350 workers are now known to have died in a garment factory just outside Dhaka which was supplying western multinationals.

“This a terrible disaster,” said George Galloway this morning. “It has been caused by political corruption and negligence in Bangladesh and by the relentless drive by western multinationals for cheap sources of clothing. The western multinationals that bought their clothes from this factory owe compensation to the bereaved families and to the injured.

“However, quite understandably workers in Bangladesh are petrified that these foreign multinationals will take their business elsewhere to other low price, low wage economies. I've discussed this matter with people of Bangladeshi heritage in Bradford, Newham and Tower Hamlets.

“As a result I’m calling for western governments to bring in legislation which will mean western companies will face stiff penalties if they fail to take appropriate measures to ensure the workers in the factories from which they are buying are working in safe conditions. If this were the case, there would be no advantage in a company switching to lower cost producers, unless of course they were able to guarantee safer conditions for their workers.

“I also want the British government to work with the Bangladesh government to end the corruption that lies behind this disaster. Western governments and multinationals must take their share of responsibility for this disaster as must the government of Bangladesh.”

Ed Miliband and Me

Secrets are sometimes necessary in politics. So is telling the truth but not the whole truth. What is never acceptable are lies. Especially from the leader of a party still in recovery from a predecessor who may have fatally wounded it by the tower of lies he built along the path which led to a million dead Iraqis and cascading extremism around the world.

A Dream for the Ummah

Welcome to the MPACUK “A Dream for the Ummah” Conference

on Sunday 21st April 2013 10am - 4pm

This conference is for those who are courageous enough to dream and tenacious enough to fulfil their dream. For those who believe they can change the world. 

Hurry to reserve your place as limited places available.

For moe details and to reserve your place please click here

Plight of Rohingya

Rohingya, an ethnic minority community of Indo-Aryan origin from the state of Rakhine in Burma, has been living there since approximately 8^th century. They have been subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of majority Buddhist community since Burmese independence in 1948 from Britain.

In 1982 the Burmese government decided to derecognise them as citizens and treats them as illegal refugees. Since then they have been subjected to discrimination on the basis of their religion and ethnicity by Buddhist majority backed by Burmese government.

These human beings have been subjected to worse persecution by the Buddhist majority and Burmese government. So much so, that they have been described by the United Nations as “the most persecuted minorities in the world”.

Their men, women, young and old are tortured, maimed, raped, killed, and burnt alive. Their properties destroyed, they are not only displaced but deprived of their basic human right of life. Since 1948, circa 1.5 million Rohingya have been forced to flee their homes to avoid persecution at the hands of majority Buddhists.

2012 saw the escalation of subhuman treatment of this community in the face of Rakhine state riots, where whole villages have been decimated. Hundreds of houses have been razed, thousands maimed, raped and killed; 80,000 people have been displaced and the situation is getting worse by the day.

The international community is unaware of their frightful situation due to neglect on the part of our mainstream media and governments, particularly Europe and America.  The very governments that go around propagating humanity, supporting “Arab spring” in the name of freedom from tyranny and dictatorships. They wage wars against oppression and terrorism.

Yet, they don't see the human suffering; “Buddhist terrorism” against Rohingya in Burma; the modern time “Holocaust”. The world and media are criminally silent in the face of blatant violations of human rights.

I urge every responsible human being to lobby their MPs to force Britain, Europe, America and rest of the world to pressurise the Burmese government to stop the violence against Rohingya, because “It is not about religion, it is about humanity”.  

Stop the bedroom tax

We are being sold a whopper of a lie. The ConDems claim that the current wave of welfare and public service cuts are designed to get the country out of debt and the medicine, while it tastes bad, will work. So why is the public debt getting worse as a result of these cutbacks? Because reducing incomes for the poor by an enormous 38% since taking office in 2010 was always going to stop people being able to spend so create jobs in the economy.

Why are there no jobs? The banks are taking money from the government and using it to speculate in international markets rather than offering it as loans for investment. The result is that the banks get to plug the gaps in their balance sheets and reward each other with huge bonuses while the rest of us find it impossible to find sustained employment. This is particularly true of the young who are finding that the abolition of Education Maintenance Allowance and hiked tuition fees destroy their route into education but there are no jobs either.

Galloway comments on Mail on Sunday story

The Bradford West MP George Galloway today described a news story in the Mail on Sunday as, "being almost totally bereft of truth, potentially actionable and clearly motivated by malice against me. I am writing to the Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe today to ask, among other matters, what guidance his force gave the newspaper and whether the publication of the story potentially compromises a live investigation." 

Galloway pointed out that his parliamentary computer had not been "seized" as the newspaper alleged and, indeed, he had insisted that it was handed in to the Met police, investigating what he described as a 'dirty tricks' operation against him orchestrated by a member of his staff, Aisha Ali Khan, and a senior detective in the Met's anti-terrorism branch SO15, Afiz Khan. Both Khans have been arrested and are presently on bail on suspicion of data protection offenses and also, in his case, of abusing his position as a police officer. 

Labour joins the sinking ship

Tuesday 19 March 2013 is a date that will sit high on the wall in the Labour Party’s hall of ignominy (and a big hall it is). A few weeks ago, Cait Reilly and Jamieson Wilson won a ruling in court that their work at Poundland under the Workfare programme, again forced and unpaid work, was illegal because they were not informed that they could refuse the work.

Thousands have suffered benefit loss for refusing unpaid work under the Workfare programme so the ruling indicated that these people, among the poorest in society, were entitled to a rebate of their benefits.

The Condems were furious with the courts for permitting benefit claimants some rights and choice. Iain Duncan Smith, the sad failure of a minister at the Department of Work and Pensions, brought emergency legislation before Parliament to reverse the court decision and deny the rebate of money to the poorest. 

Workfare gets less people into work

The ConDem and Iain Duncan Smith in particular have trumpeted their desire to bring about ‘a change in culture’ by stopping ‘skiving’ from benefit claimants. Anyone who has been unemployed knows that this whole scenario is a fiction, made up by rich people to dump the blame for economic crisis and joblessness on those that are its victims. 

Their solution, the Workfare programme, brings in private companies with contracts to place claimants in work. They receive start up fees for each claimant of up to £600 but provide very poor, if any, training and support. If the claimant gets a job under their own steam in this time, the company receives a payment while the claimant receives nothing. If the claimant does not manage to find a job, the company loses nothing at all. 

Stakes rise in British society

British politics is now firmly cast upon the sea of uncertainty where ongoing economic crisis and political disaffection are leading to rapidly changing waters. The Respect Party is capable of playing a significant role in political developments in the next few years if it can reach out to construct an activist and membership base now. This was the message from discussions at the Respect Party National Council last Saturday (9 March).

Lessons from November
The November by-elections demonstrated both the possibilities and the difficulties involved in trying to articulate the call for social and political change that challenges the austerity and drive to increase inequality among the three major parties. The elections took place in areas where Respect had no effective presence prior to the campaign. The elections were called at short notice by the Labour Party, mainly for fear of Respect repeating the unprecedented victory of George Galloway in the Bradford West by-election in March 2012. Labour was able to pour resources and party workers from across the country into these elections, making it difficult for Respect to compete with limited resources. 

Axe the bedroom tax

The death of Hugo Chavez

By George Galloway MP

The death of Hugo Chavez at just 58 is a body blow for the poor and the oppressed, throughout Latin America and the wider world. The most elected leader in the modern era, Chavez transformed Venezuela by the force of his will and a popular revolution which encompassed the marginal, the ethnic minorities, the workers, and key sections of the progressive intelligensia who saw in him a veritable Spartacus.

He rallied an army of not slaves, but those despised by the oligarchy as hewers of wood and drawers of the oil which previously made only the rich richer. Under Chavez’ revolution the oil wealth was distributed in ever rising wages and above all in ambitious social engineering. He built the fifth largest student body in the world, creating scores of new universities. More than 90% of Venezuelans ate three meals a day for the first time in the country’s history. Quality social housing for the masses became the norm with the pledge that by the end of the presidential term, now cut short, all Venezuelans would live in a dignified house.

Chavez’ ambitions were not limited to Venezuela alone. He fostered Latin American unity promoting democratic and socialist movements throughout the continent. He founded a Bank of the South, a University of the South, even a television station of the South – Tele Sur. And further afield he championed the Palestinian cause, giving citizenship to stateless Palestinian refugees. When Israel invaded Lebanon, from where I write, in 2006 he expelled the Israeli ambassador from Caracas – relations which remain severed. He stood up to North American hegemony and with the victims of imperial domination everywhere.

I knew him as a warm gregarious bear of a man, a force of nature. My wife and I spent almost two weeks working in his presidential campaign late last year. It is heartbreaking to be writing what amounts to his obituary so soon after yet another of his great political triumphs. He will be remembered as a man who lived and died for his people, as a paratrooper, a tank commander, a president. Hasta siempre Comandante. Presente.

Published in the Independent

Newham Respect Public Meeting

George Galloway speaks to a Parliamentary committee on matters regarding the Middle East on 27 February 2013

Boycotting Israel to support Palestine

by John Wight 

George Galloway’s decision to walk out of a recent debate at Oxford University as soon as he realized that the opposing speaker was an Israeli was both principled and correct. It has been deemed controversial only because of the willful and ongoing denial, prevalent within the British political, media, and cultural establishments, of the fact that Israel is an apartheid state.

The real controversy, and the only j’accuse vis-à-vis Israel that should be levelled, involves those whose cowardice prevents them from not only acknowledging this truth, but worse from acting to end what is by any reckoning the most sustained and systematic injustice inflicted on a people by a state in modern history.

George Galloway has spent his entire political life speaking and standing up for the rights of the Palestinians – who have and continue to be blamed by Israel and its apologists in the West for their own suffering. In the over three decades of Galloway’s unfailing support for the Palestinians, he has endured more calumniation, smears, attacks, and attempts at demonization than any single political figure not only in Britain but the entire West.

Pakistan, A Fractured Society

The Pakistani Shia community has once again suffered at the hands of hard line Sunni groups. A second bomb attack on Shia Hazaras took place in a busy market area. The human casualties this time were more than 80 people killed and nearly 200 injured. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence in Pakistan in recent years. Sectarian violence is slowly, but surely, destabilising the country and creating more enmity between Muslims in an all-ready deeply fractured society.

Fundamental differences in creed between the two groups have led to a deep historical and religious schism. These differences are so deeply ingrained in the consciousness of some Muslims that to them it legitimatises using violence as a means of advocating the righteousness of their own beliefs. Surely this is flawed logic, as the message these hard line Sunni groups are trying to proselytise is essentially then lost amongst the mindless bloodshed and carnage.

This problem is further exacerbated by the negligent stance taken by the Pakistani government. They face criticism from many quarters because they are failing to protect some of the most vulnerable groups (Shias) in their fragmented society. This poses the pertinent question - how can a government that cannot protect minority groups serve in the best interests of the majority?

Moreover, this is a sad and precarious situation because arguably there are more important issues that Pakistan needs to be focusing on such as poverty, corruption and the drone attacks the Pakistani government condones. Muslim groups in Pakistan should be uniting to produce a strong voice which tackles the more pressing issues affecting Pakistan.

Globally, all Muslims share one creed and testify to uphold and believe in the strongly monotheistic nature of Islam. So let this commonality be the unifying stance by which Muslims protest, rather than them expending their energies on the diverging elements of the religion. A united Ummah can effect change, Real Change!

Respect on Question Time

Galloway responds to David Cameron

Bradford West MP George Galloway responded to Prime Minister David Cameron's refusal to answer a parliamentary question, by resorting to a cheap insult, by detailing the Arab tyrannies and puppet presidents Britain backs.

'I asked a reasonable question, to detail the difference between the jihadists in Mali we oppose and the jihadists in Syria we back and in response to a legitimate inquiry I received a sneering insult more fitted to the gutters of Eton than the Mother of all Parliaments,' Galloway said. 'Britain is guilty to backing the worst, most bloodthirsty dictators in the world, bar none. This country backs and arms the foul Saudi Arabian sheikhdom which has the least democracy and probably the worst human rights record on the planet.

Stop the war on Mali

The French government (with British logistical support – though the planes keep breaking down) has launched a military adventure in the former French colony of Mali. As with all the Western interventions of the last decade, this will destabilize the region and lead to greater conflict rather than less. It must be opposed in the strongest terms.

Mali has been subject to ‘Western help’ for the past 20 years and has imploded largely as a result of it. French intervention is to support a military government mired in corruption and every bit as brutal in its torture and murder as those being bombed. The rebels being bombed were given their battle training and weaponry in Libya by the very Western forces now seeking to crush them.

The British government is behaving shamefully in offering support in this dangerous adventure. There has been no public discussion or Parliamentary vote on British involvement. Instead, the British military are being dragged into an ethnic conflict that reaches back to the appalling mess made in Libya in 2011.

Equality of Sacrifice

This government is out to drown the poor. In a sinking ship, the bankers and the millionaires seek safety and comfort while pushing everyone else out of the life boats or down the ladders. This is the 21st century that the Tories and the Liberal Democrats want for us.

They will not punish the bankers or the tax evading companies that produced this economic mess because these are their chums. They are hell bent on using the mess they created as an excuse to roll back the role of the state to help the poorest and turn it into a mere clearing house for profitable government contracts in health, education, transport, even prisons.

By 2020, the TUC estimates that living standards will have been cut for the majority by a further 15%. This comes on top of the most consistent fall in living standards since the 1930s. From 2005, living standards have fallen by an average of 1% per year. Last night, the House of Commons voted for a Welfare Bill that will make 7 million working families worse off and increase the despair and desperation of the unemployed. The government ministers laughed and joked as they did this, including the Prime Minister, whose family wealth was secured in tax avoidance schemes.