THE Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has issued an extraordinary statement making clear it has no links to the “unknown entity” of the Muslim Council of the UK after the latter intervened in the SNP leadership campaign.
The MCB urged media outlets to look closer at the UK "council" and who it speaks for as a "matter of priority".
It comes after Wasif Ahmad, the “chair of the Muslim Council of the UK”, launched a broadside at Humza Yousaf on Wednesday morning, claiming he is “not the right person” to be first minister.
In a statement reported in newspapers and prominent blogs, Ahmad urged people to instead back either Kate Forbes or Ash Regan in the SNP leadership race.
However, questions around the council’s legitimacy were asked by members of the Muslim community.
Naveed Asghar, a former Tory candidate who chairs the Conservative Muslim Forum in Scotland, said he had “never heard” of Ahmad’s group.
He said it had "zero credentials" and had been "simply brought about to advance the aims of one individual".
And now, the MCB, the “largest and most diverse Muslim umbrella organisation” in the UK, has issued an extraordinary statement urging the media to be more careful about who it platforms.
“There has been confusion over statements made by an unknown entity referring to itself as 'The Muslim Council of the UK',” the MCB wrote on Twitter, directing people to its fuller statement.
STATEMENT | MCB issues clarification re. 'Muslim Council of the UK' There has been confusion over statements made by an unknown entity referring to itself as 'The Muslim Council of the UK'. The entity & its 'Chairman' are not associated w. the MCB. 👇https://t.co/Tu5Y581PKN
— MCB (@MuslimCouncil) February 22, 2023
This reads: “The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a democratic body that represents a wide cross-section of British Muslim communities. The MCB has not issued any comment on any matters pertaining to the SNP leadership race.
“The organisation referring to itself as the ‘Muslim Council of the UK’, and Mr Wasif Ahmad, described as the chairman of this organisation, has no association with the MCB or our network of affiliates across the UK.
“It is of note that the only online trace pertaining to this entity is a Facebook page that seems to have been created yesterday, and the only name reported to be associated with it is that of the aforementioned Mr Wasif Ahmad. We would ask that media outlets examine the credentials of this organisation and on whose behalf it speaks as a matter of priority.
“For reference, the MCB does not endorse political parties, or individual candidates, and aims to work with elected representatives from all parties for the common good.”
Ahmad has been approached for comment on the MCB statement.
Speaking to The National earlier on Wednesday, Ahmad was asked when the “Muslim Council of the UK” had been set up. He claimed it had existed for three years, having first been established in Manchester during the pandemic. He said it had since relocated to Scotland.
Asked what affiliated groups the council represented or worked with, Ahmad replied: “Mosques.”
Asked which Mosques, he refused to say.
Ahmad also refused to name anyone else on the board of the “Muslim Council of the UK”, or even say how many other people were involved.
However, he insisted that there were other board members and they had been elected at some point.
Asked who had elected them, he replied: “The community.”
Ahmad further said that the reason there was no trace of the Muslim Council of UK online – other than a Facebook page created on February 21 – is because they had deleted their presence due to Islamophobic attacks.
Asked how he had managed to expunge all mention of the council from the internet, Ahmad would not say.
Closing the conversation, he said: "Any attack on us we will treat it as Islamophobia."
