Engage, a new Muslim political group Print E-mail
Thursday, 30 October 2008
MPACUK has always said that all Muslim groups need to be engaged in fighting the rising tide of hatred and Islamophobia by organised bodies like the BNP and the much more powerful Zionists, who no doubt support them covertly. They both have a common enemy - Islam.
So when we heard of the launch of a powerful new Muslim group who were brave enough to take on the challenge of fighting against racism and Islamophobia, and do what most powerful Muslim groups - chiefly mosques and ISOCs - were too scared to do, we were pretty happy.

Headed by the likes of Inayat Bunglawala, the leaders have a track record of fighting for the Muslims and not selling them out.

They may be fighters, but all fighters fail if their community is not reformed and thus stay passive. Do they have the guts to tell the community and its leaders they need to change, even when the community leadership doesn’t want to hear it? Well its early days but they seem to realise that the key to fighting Islamophobia is reforming the way the Muslims think.

Currently any reformer of the Ummah will tell you that the Ummah are passive defeatists. Their mindsets have been moulded by the Mosques and other groups that do not prioritise Jihad (defending the Ummah), but instead focus the mind on minor points of Fiqh - the way they were taught to do when studying Islam under leaders who simply live in another era. Think about why most Muslims sisters know more about the permissibility of nail varnish rather than stopping an attack on Iran. Yet credit is due to Engage - in their maiden speech they have told the Muslim community that it needs to buck up and get active. So far, so brave.

Full marks so far! However, they lose a strategic point since their presentation missed the need for Muslims to join all political parties, not just register to vote. It takes up to 70,000 votes to remove an Islamophobic MP, and yet an Islamophobic MP can be blocked from getting the seat in the first place if just 200 Muslims joined the local party.

Tell us what you think of this group. What are your hopes and concerns? You can be sure they will be reading this and we may even get them on our website to address your questions.
 
[EDIT] The video has been removed as it was pulled by Engage

[EDIT] Powerpoint slides removed at the request of Engage because of breach of copyright.


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Readers have left 7 comments.
BungleWatch:

If the Bungawala's are running the show you'll need a PhD to get involved.
(1) 2008-10-31 10:01:46
Syma:

Brilliant work ! This is a great initiative! ..I have always admired Inayat although never had the pleasure of meeting him.

Im sure this will be a great success.
(2) 2008-10-31 13:54:23
Shireen:

If the Bungawala's are running the show you'll need a PhD to get involved.
— BungleWatch


Just checked the Engage Pocket guide - it's a PhD thesis on their site - no mention of joining political parties....amateurs or what?!
(3) 2008-10-31 14:03:48
Mousey:

Re: 'no mention of joining political parties....amateurs or what?!'

Anyone that knows anything of the distribution of power in politics both within parties and outside them would know that joining a political party is but one aspect of political engagement and by no means the only one. The way political parties operate these days, a cursory look at the manner in which MPs are herded into voting with their party leadership through use of the Whips' office, the case of 42 days detention is a recent and pertinent example, it is obvious to the informed that joining a political party is not the sole measure of how one engages with the political process.

It's the idea that joining a political party is the most important step to engagement that is amateurish.
(4) 2008-10-31 15:36:49
kermit:

Brilliant work ! This is a great initiative! ..I have always admired Inayat although never had the pleasure of meeting him.

Im sure this will be a great success.
— Syma


lol....yeah right, come on bungy, we know its you...lol. 'never had the pleasure of meeting him' lol
(5) 2008-10-31 19:15:48
Tarzan Taz:

It's a media project not a politics project.
(6) 2008-11-01 01:34:17
Taalib:

Re: 'no mention of joining political parties....amateurs or what?!'

Anyone that knows anything of the distribution of power in politics both within parties and outside them would know that joining a political party is but one aspect of political engagement and by no means the only one. The way political parties operate these days, a cursory look at the manner in which MPs are herded into voting with their party leadership through use of the Whips' office, the case of 42 days detention is a recent and pertinent example, it is obvious to the informed that joining a political party is not the sole measure of how one engages with the political process.

It's the idea that joining a political party is the most important step to engagement that is amateurish.
— Mousey


Joining a political party isn't the most important step but it is a crucial & important component of any national poltitical engagement and lobbying strategy.

Look how the Zionist student groups channel activists into them and look how Engage has deliberately ommitted the point from their Pocket Guide.

I say deliberate because the MCB Pocket Guide (on which the Engage one is based) explicitly advocates the point: "By joining political parties and becoming active therein we will be better placed to shape the future direction of society, safeguard our interests and promote the common good. This method is the agreed consensus of leading UK Islamic scholars."

Sad to say Engage has missed a beautiful chance to plant seeds of empowerment in the Muslim mindset.
(7) 2008-11-01 13:51:43
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