UK: Anti-hate crime Muslim campaign group attacked for supporting gay rights
The Muslim anti-hate crime campaign group Tell MAMA has been criticised for having a “reformist agenda” after it appointed human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell as its patron.
However, Fiyaz Mughal, the chairman of Tell MAMA has said he is now facing backlash from members of the Islamic community for overstepping a “stated remit.”
According to The Sunday Express, the backlash started after he had responded to statements made by Dr Mohammed Naseem, the chairman of the Birmingham Central Mosque, after Naseem compared being gay to being a “compulsive gambler, murder, peadophile, etc.”
On a Tell MAMA article, Mr Mughal wrote that Dr Naseem was “fundamentally wrong” and “disgraceful”.
Following this, an anonymous ‘Muslim Community Alert’ started circulating warnings to people about Tell MAMA’s “reformist agenda,” including criticisms of its recent appointment of Peter Tatchell.
Responding to these attacks, Mr Mughal told the Sunday Express: “We’re clear. If you are homophobic or anti-Semitic, you can’t campaign against anti-Muslim prejudice.
“The two things just do not go together. If you’re an intolerant figure against someone else, you can’t then cry wolf when something happens to you. We’ll stand against intolerance in all communities.”
“While the tiny minority of Islamist extremists – and fanatics from all faiths and none – must be challenged, we also need to challenge the unjustified demonisation of the general Muslim population.”
