05/03/2025
Thank you Wes Streeting 👏
Tonight two historic firsts - the Big Iftar held in Westminster Hall with the Prime Minister in attendance.
Having helped launch the first ever Big Iftar almost a decade ago when I chaired the All Party Group on British Muslims, I never imagined it would grow to become such a major event.
Why does this matter? In part because Parliament upholds our liberty, including freedom of religious expression, which we take for granted but others across the world are fighting for. We regularly mark major religious festivals. Tomorrow I’ll attend the Ash Wednesday mass in the Chapel to mark the start of Lent.
But, let’s be honest, it also matters because there’s a lot of hate directed towards Muslims in our country at the moment. The highest levels since the Home Office started recording the data. It breaks my heart, but it also causes real fear and harm to our friends and neighbours who live with the consequences of this hatred online and on our streets - like the bile pouring into replies to my post on X/Twitter. I don’t think this is representative of our community or our country.
I’ve also received quite a lot of responses highlighting my majority at the last election and making the assumption that my support for events like the Big Iftar is transactional and about winning votes. Except my commitment to tackling hatred and prejudice is personal, longstanding and principled. My work on Islamophobia extends back 20 years and is based on a simple principle that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of who they are, who they love or who they worship.
So here’s a picture of the event tonight with a two word riposte to the haters out there: Ramadan Mubarak.