News

Muslim leaders press MP Brown over Gaza

Newham’s Muslim community press for more action from West Ham’s MP.

Lyn Brown, MP for West Ham
©Labour

A group of 22 leaders of various groups within Newham’s Muslim community has written to West Ham MP Lyn Brown seeking a meeting to discuss the humanitarian crisis and continuing war in the Gaza Strip.

Many local leaders are deeply troubled by the Israeli military response to the attack by the Hamas leadership in Gaza which on 7 October launched a brutal terrorist attack on Israel, claiming 1,200 lives with more than 200 people taken hostage.

But the ferocity of the Israeli military response – a two-month long siege, invasion and relentless bombing campaign which has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children – has prompted widespread protests in Britain and around the world.

In Newham there have been calls for more political action to bring about a ceasefire.

The letter from representatives of mosques and Muslim organisations in the Borough, and specifically from Lyn Brown’s West Ham constituency, have written to her “to express our disappointment with your continuous refusal to meet with us in Newham, despite our repeated requests”.

The group is offering to meet in Newham “privately, in secure locations and without any publicity” to discuss their concerns over the Labour party’s stance on the Gaza war”. But Lyn Brown has said she would prefer to meet in Parliament.

The Labour Party has opposed a full ceasefire and as reported in Newham Voices last month Lyn Brown did not support a Parliamentary motion calling for a ceasefire. Sir Stephen Timms, Newham’s MP representing East Ham, was one of 56 Labour rebels who defied the party leadership and voted for a ceasefire in a motion proposed by the SNP in November.

As Newham Voices went to press, we had received no reply from Lyn Brown’s office to our approach for a comment on this latest letter which was signed by:

Shaykh Abid Siddiqui, Newham Council of Mosques; Maulana Abdul Wahhab, Darul Atfal; Hafiz Jamil Ahmed, East End Islamic Centre; Imran Talati, Quwwatul Islam; Asim Uddin, Masjid Ibrahim; Mufti Shah Hamza, Motala Foundation; Abidah Uddin, Newham Peace and Dawah; Saffiyah Amejee, Wellbeing Community; Mohammad Nurruzaman, Darul Arqam; Johura Qureshi, Southern Road SRE; Shakira Begum, Sisters Circle; Mufti Shah Shuaib, Imam Motola Academy; Ali Akhter, Al Hira Masjid; Rozina Iqbal, Taqlis; Hajera Balaribi, Palm Leaf Counselling; Mufti Umair Zulfikar, Riverine Centre; Shafia Begum, Newham Sisters Connect; Husnaan Raza, Al Khayr; Zaheer Mumtaz, Green Street Masjid; Sharmina Banu, Sukoon Project; Umar Naveed, Minhajul Quran; and Anas Khan, Newham Muslim Forum.


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