- 5 months ago
“Voting in the UK is an important civic right that allows citizens to shape the country’s future.
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00:00You said you welcome Islamophobia?
00:03I welcome, that's the way
00:05The voting itself is the greatest crime of all against God
00:08Planning on voting?
00:09No, it's a joke
00:11How am I going to protect my people if I don't vote?
00:14There's no scholar of any credibility who has ever said voting is what we call haram
00:19Only obey Allah, only follow Allah
00:22Don't obey the laws of man, don't obey the law of the land
00:30If you look today in Britain, it's capitalism, secularism, freedom, liberty, cannot provide the solutions for people
00:50In terms of the Muslim community in the UK, it accounts for about 5% of the UK public
00:55What are you hoping to achieve from something like this and telling them not to vote?
00:59I mean, first of all, it's to save the people from their own sins and crimes
01:03We want to protect the people from falling into this disbelief and apostasy from Islam out of their own ignorance
01:10People say at a time like this, it's actually quite important for Muslims to vote
01:13Especially with the sort of rise of Islamophobia
01:15Voting for a legislator instead of God, it is the greater evil among, you know, that is the greatest evil
01:21Voting itself, it is the greatest crime of all against God
01:24Much worse than all of the crimes that the British government are doing against the Muslims
01:29The people who are behind bars without trial, you know, for decades
01:32Even all of that is nothing compared to the crime of the social partners with God
01:36I'm actually quite surprised by the fact that they've actually managed to get a lot of people to stop and talk to them
01:41And in fact, people are coming over quite curiously and starting this discussion
01:45I guess that's a way of opening up the debate
01:47Going over and over and over again
01:50You fear the creation, you don't fear the creation
01:52We only fear Allah SWT
01:54We will get...
01:55So you welcome...
01:56You said a moment ago that you welcome an increase in Islamophobia
01:59Of course
02:00So you welcome more black people being killed
02:02You said you welcome Islamophobia
02:04I welcome...
02:05So if you welcome that, that means more of your brothers and sisters are going to be killed
02:10No
02:11Madness mate
02:12Madness mate
02:13Madness mate
02:14You don't use all people being
02:16So I just see you have a heated debate there
02:19Yeah
02:20What is it about...
02:21Well they think that they should vote
02:23I was asking them if the EDL marched down this high street
02:26Would they just allow it to happen?
02:28And they never gave me an answer
02:30Are you making the point that them not voting in the upcoming elections
02:32Is actually going to be detrimental to the Muslim community?
02:35Voting isn't going to change an immense amount
02:38But if UKIP move the centre ground to their arena of bigotry
02:43That is a reason to go out and not vote for them and anything but the UK
02:51Even though it's the fastest growing religion in the UK
02:54Muslims historically have the lowest voter turnout for any religious group in Britain
02:59Stay Muslim Don't Vote's uncompromising message seem to be echoed by a vocal minority online
03:04One such group is Campaign Islam
03:06Who have an active presence on YouTube and social media promoting Sharia law
03:10They also seem to criticise integration when it conflicts with what they see as Islamic values
03:15They want us to be like the Western women
03:18The so called symbol of femininity
03:20What? High heels, lipstick, short skirts
03:23With the UK general election approaching
03:25I wanted to find out where these ideas and sense of disengagement was coming from
03:29And what this meant for the Muslim vote in Britain
03:32We went to Luton to speak with the women of Campaign Islam
03:35So we clearly see an agenda by the British government against Islam as a whole
03:43In the Muslim community, the question mark over their heads is where does your loyalty lie?
03:49Is it with Queen and country? Or is it with the Muslims that were born?
03:52That's what every single one of us has been asked in our life
03:55In our life
03:56And if we say, hold on, I can't stand with Queen and country
03:59It's their fight in my brother and sisters
04:01Then you're the terrorist, you're guilty
04:03So then there was fire on you
04:05Then they will set things on you to see, oh, are they really extreme?
04:08So this is what we're facing
04:10It's either you're with them or you're with us
04:12You know, they say there's freedom of speech
04:15But when it comes to the Muslims, there's no such thing as freedom of speech
04:18You know, we can't just say what we want to say openly
04:20Because they will attack us for it
04:22The women invited me to their weekly circle where they learn about Islam
04:27So how would it be if we were living under Islam right now?
04:31Now how would hospitals be?
04:34They will have a fountain, okay?
04:37And they will deserve sunlight to enter each room
04:40Now what the problem we have with hospitals today is you come out more ill, yeah?
04:44It always happens, isn't it?
04:45It was Islamic State that was the first people to even introduce a hospital
04:50They built the first universities
04:52Women in Islam excelled in education that we don't see today
04:56I mean, look at, what's her name? Miley, I always forget her name
04:59Miley Cyrus
05:00Miley Cyrus
05:01She's an ideal woman, a Western woman that we should aspire to
05:04So you sell your body for fame to be noticed
05:07That's also being oppressed and abused
05:09I'm assuming so eventually your desire is to go and live in the Islamic State
05:16I find that question a bit silly because you know what the result is
05:21There's no way we can go, you know?
05:23If we do have any intentions of going, we'll be arrested
05:26You know, you can laugh and you might be outraged by what we're saying
05:29But you know, whatever's going to happen, it's going to happen
05:31Whatever Allah has planned will happen
05:33And we believe that as Muslims, every single Muslim should believe that
05:38Though the desire to live in an Islamic State may be viewed as extreme
05:42The feeling that the government was criminalising them for their beliefs
05:45Was only further adding to an us-and-them mentality
05:49However, there are some community initiatives trying to bridge this gap
05:53We went to meet UELECT, a group of young Muslims pushing for people to vote
05:57Obviously, from my perspective, we need to make sure that we're engaging as many people as possible
06:00Encouraging them to register to vote by the 20th of May
06:05Guys, your vote counts today!
06:07Please take a leaflet! Register for voting!
06:11Do you think politicians or the main parties have been doing anything
06:14that are trying to engage the Muslim community here in the UK?
06:17The main political parties have really taken the Muslim vote for granted
06:21This is why UELECT exists
06:23To say that you can't come outside our mosque every Eid
06:26and shake our hands and think you're going to get our vote
06:28We're going to be looking to see where you voted for previously
06:32Where have you voted on the issues of Iraq and terrorism, NHS, education
06:37If we can get our registration up to the national level, 65%
06:4040 seats can be swung by the Muslim vote
06:43If we actually register to vote
06:46So you were handed a flyer earlier about voting
06:48Yes
06:49Will you be voting this year?
06:50Yeah, of course I will
06:51This is where we belong to
06:53This is whether you're Muslim or Jewish or Christian
06:56This is our country
06:57A lot of Muslims are saying that it's un-Islamic to vote
07:00And actually that they don't believe that it makes a difference to vote
07:02Do you think that's true?
07:03How am I going to protect my people if I don't vote?
07:06I'm proud to be Somali and I'm proud to be a British citizen
07:09No matter what anybody says
07:11This is our land, this is where our kids and our family live
07:14And we need our vote to be heard
07:16I asked some young people about their position on the upcoming election
07:20A number of them told me they didn't believe in voting
07:22But were not willing to speak about it on camera
07:25Are you going to vote?
07:26Yes, I am, but I don't know how to
07:28What do you think of the campaign's that Muslim don't vote?
07:31It's like, I understand where they're coming from
07:33Because they're saying
07:34No one can be the Jad except for Allah
07:38So, but you have to understand where we're living in
07:41At the moment if this conservative wins
07:43He's going to do so many bad stuff to the country
07:46So I personally would want Labour to win
07:50We came across a genuine sense of media distrust
07:53Among many British born Muslims
07:55And a fear of expressing their views openly
07:57To find out what might be causing this
07:59We went to meet a politically active young man
08:01Though anxious at first
08:03He agreed to speak with us on camera
08:05I'm normal and special
08:07Yeah
08:08I'm just the ordinary Muslim youth
08:10That happens to be living in the UK
08:12And do you consider yourself British?
08:15Or do you consider yourself a British Muslim?
08:17Or do you consider yourself a Muslim living in Britain?
08:19I don't believe in those sort of tags
08:21Okay
08:22My identity is defined by my ideas
08:24Yeah
08:25And my belief
08:26So I just say I'm Muslim simply
08:28Do you think there is an attack on Muslims in Britain?
08:33Yeah it is
08:34Yeah
08:35I mean just before I started my college
08:38There was a girl in my college
08:39Who was walking to college in the morning
08:41Observing the Islamic dress code
08:43And she got whacked from the back of her head
08:45The obvious example is the CTS bill
08:47Where they're not aiming for criminals
08:52It's just your thoughts and your ideas
08:54It is definitely targeting the Muslim community
08:57The counter-terrorism and security bill
08:59Seems to be a recurring concern for many people we spoke to
09:02This new piece of government legislation
09:05Amongst other things
09:06Places a statutory obligation on public bodies
09:08Such as universities to surveil students
09:11We must ban extremist preachers from our countries
09:14We must root out extremism from our schools, universities and prisons
09:18Critics claim the new legislation is a dangerous incursion on our civil liberties
09:23Liberty is absolute
09:24If you give it away for any purpose it's gone forever
09:28And what this bill does is it simply takes away liberty
09:32Large groups of both students and teachers including Issa campaigned against it
09:42How do you think the CTS bill can affect you?
09:44So like even for me before the CTS
09:46In college I don't discuss nothing
09:49Even if I might discuss anything Islamic
09:52They might think oh god we've got another one of them
09:55The next Jihadi John
09:57It's a bit ridiculous
09:59And how it affects me now
10:02Your teachers
10:03Nursery teachers
10:04Hospitals
10:05GPs
10:06They're not teachers and GPs no more
10:09They're state spies
10:10It creates that atmosphere of fear
10:12In terms of
10:14Any little thing I do
10:15The fact that I'm growing the beard
10:16Wow maybe I won't get the job interview
10:18I mean they want to integrate us
10:20How's that leading to their so called integration?
10:23The elections are coming up?
10:24Yeah
10:25Planning on voting?
10:26No
10:27Why's that?
10:28It's a joke
10:31Even non-Muslims are planning not to vote
10:33Like Russell Brand is like what's the point?
10:35It's a two party system anyway
10:37The election system in itself is flawed
10:40I mean that's not being apolitical
10:42My opinions obviously come from Islam
10:44Is that God should decide how we live
10:46Not a parliament
10:47Welcome to my crib MTV
10:48This is where it will happen
10:49Do you think there's like
10:50The Muslim community has a kind of responsibility towards this idea of radicalisation I guess?
11:02Not really
11:03I don't really see much of a responsibility
11:05I mean even like
11:06Jihadi John
11:07Like what mosque radicalised him?
11:09What Islamic preacher was it?
11:10Like what is the
11:11From what we know of him
11:12What was the sort of evidence?
11:14So how come do you think people are kind of committing these acts then?
11:18The reason why they're probably committing all these acts is that a lot of them are very confused
11:23I mean it's not the smartest of things to do
11:26A lot of them are frustrated and angry
11:28Something always has to instigate it and always has to upset people for them to take such extreme measures
11:33Issa's views on Islamophobia, counter-terrorism and foreign policy are common concerns that advocacy group MEND
11:42Which stands for Muslim Engagement and Development have been trying to raise with the main parties
11:48We attended an event they had organised in East London where the public were given a chance to question their local candidates
12:00Can you tell me a bit about the work that MEND's been doing around the elections?
12:02Yeah, quite a lot to be fair
12:04The MEND effectively launched the MEND Muslim manifesto
12:07Which looked like a number of areas from counter-terrorism to Islamophobia to human rights
12:12All areas where the Muslim community had concerns
12:15We then tried to translate them into pledges which we were hoping the mainstream parties would pretty much sign up to
12:21The good news is all the three mainstream parties did sign up to some pledges
12:26Some more than others is the reality
12:28Obviously, one of the things that has been a lot of talk around is that voting is un-Islamic
12:32Well, my thoughts on it are very simple
12:34There's no scholar of any credibility worth anything serious
12:37Who has ever said voting is what we call haram
12:40This is a really bizarre argument
12:43At a time when Muslims face so many challenges in this country
12:46Which are best addressed by getting involved in the system
12:49To not engage
12:51To me is just stupid quite frankly
12:58Right, any more hands up? Yes, gentleman there
13:01But I just don't know what the panel's opinion is about to prevent strategy within the schools in the borough
13:07We've already had reports of children being questioned from their teachers and some from their officers
13:13The easiest way to get rid of the threat of terrorism
13:16Is that the British government doesn't go around the world terrorising other people
13:20Would you call Israel a terrorist state?
13:33Okay, would you call Israel a terrorist state?
13:39I care about the situation in Palestine and Israel
13:41That's why I want to find international institutions workable
13:44And I care about them because I care about social justice
13:47I have another question
13:48Which is
13:49Are the Palestinian-Israel pointing to the terrorist state and then we can close?
13:53Sorry, no, I don't agree with the sentiment
13:55And I'll be very clear about it
13:56That Israel is a terrorist state
13:58I do agree
14:02Hold them accountable
14:03International criminal office
14:10So I got quite heat today
14:11Especially when they were talking about foreign policy
14:12And the Israel-Palestine conflict
14:14There was a big turnout
14:15However, I haven't seen many young people here today
14:19Typically, Muslim communities always vote for Labour
14:21Obviously, after the Iraq war, they've kind of lost a lot of voters
14:25How do you think you're going to regain or build that trust again?
14:28Well, I think it's very important to listen to Muslim experiences
14:31Look, I didn't support the decision to go to war in Iraq
14:33But I recognise when we've got people about to die in Benghazi
14:36When we've got the situation in Syria
14:38When we have got the situation in Gaza that we're trying to deal with
14:40The whole range of issues about people of all faiths and none have concerns about
14:44Politics isn't just about being angry, it's about answers too
14:49Men's hustings had failed to attract a younger crowd
14:52And with youth such as Issa becoming more distrustful of the government
14:55We wanted to find out what other voices were reaching out to them
14:58So it's 10 o'clock on a Friday night
15:00And we've been invited towards essentially a behind the scenes of one of Abu Barat's videos
15:04It's a weekly talk he holds around Islamic topics
15:06And today he's going to be touching on voting
15:08We had met Abu Barat earlier at the Stamilism Don't Vote store
15:12Besides his street campaigning, he also promotes his message to his large online following
15:16Through live streaming and video uploads
15:18The favourite Muslim for them is the moderate one
15:22Like a vegetarian who's only moderately vegetarian
15:25Sometimes he eats meat
15:26You can't be in between, there's nothing in between
15:28Okay?
15:29And you're either Muslim, you practice, okay?
15:32Or you are kafir
15:43I recognise those whiteboards from the videos
15:45Yes
15:48So what is this event today?
15:50This is a regular event we do every Friday
15:52From 10 o'clock to quite late
15:54Sometimes the idea is maybe even all the way until dawn
15:58The particular reason why we choose Fridays and Friday nights
16:02Is that there's a tug of war going on
16:04In terms of the cultural atmosphere in this country
16:07Where Friday nights is typically known for other things
16:10Other not so wholesome things
16:12So essentially this is kind of like your equivalent
16:14Of like Friday night going to the pub I guess
16:16But like...
16:17Well yeah, it's an alternative to that
16:19So do you usually get quite a big turnout?
16:21Yeah, usually we'll have the whole room packed out
16:24But, you know, when you have cameras
16:27People tend to stay away
16:28Why do you think that is?
16:29It's because they don't trust Western media
16:31A lot of people feel that they will be misrepresented
16:34They will be presented as some kind of radical or extremist
16:36Just for even attending
16:38What makes you choose to put yourself in front of the camera so often?
16:41I'm not trying to make people like me, I don't really care
16:43What I care about is Islam needs to prevail
16:46Islam needs to come out
16:47People need to know what Islam is
16:49What is the message of Islam?
16:50What do you say the main issues that young Muslims are facing here in the UK at the moment?
16:55I think that the British government, they need to stop interfering in all of our affairs
16:59And stop trying to shove their own way of life and democracy and secularism
17:03Down the throats of the Muslims all around the world
17:06Until they stop doing that, Muslim youth will never see them
17:10As anything except a clear open enemy at war with Islam
17:14Insha'Allah we're gonna start any second now
17:17Our topic tonight is benefit and harm in doubt
17:23The Muslim is the one Allah defined as Muslim
17:26Not the one I like to be calling Muslim
17:28People they start to say, but the voting
17:31Okay, I can see it's bad
17:33But I don't think it's guf-
17:34Look here's what you think
17:36Allah is the one who defined what it's guf-
17:38Only obey Allah
17:40Only follow Allah
17:41When you have two laws
17:42The law of Allah and the law of man
17:44You say to the people
17:46Worship Allah
17:47Obey his laws
17:48Don't obey the laws of man
17:50Don't obey the law of the land
17:52So apparently this goes on till like early hours of the morning
18:00And you've got kids in there as young as seven
18:03On a Friday night basically like eating, drinking fizzy drinks
18:06Like completely engaged in this
18:09As well as like an online seminar which is like live going on
18:14I think I'm gonna call it a mine now though
18:17Unfortunately, groups like Stay Muslim Don't Vote were capitalising on apathy among young Muslims
18:26And strengthening the idea that a person cannot be both Muslim and British
18:30At a time when Muslims are facing so many challenges
18:33The feeling that the government was failing to understand and adequately address the community's concerns
18:38Risks causing more politically active youths to step back from engagement
18:47Irversus So far so many people NOW
18:49Every day days as well
18:50Do not pay Vertus?
18:51rem fee
18:52You're back
18:53Do not pay entry
18:54Do not pay attention
18:55Do not pay attention
18:56Give me to aelf
18:58But not pay attention
18:59Lets pay attention
19:00Toar近
19:05erer
19:06Toar近
19:08Toar近
19:09Free
19:13Toar近
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