UK Muslim Council Deny Party Affiliation Amid Gender Reform Row

The Muslim Council of Britain have denied political endorsements after reports claimed its withdrawal of support for the Scottish Government.

In a statement shared via Twitter, Mr Wasif Ahmad, claimed to be the chairman of The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said: “We have followed suit in joining the stance made by The Indian Council of Scotland/UK in withdrawing our support to the SNP/Greens government in Scotland.

“We have come to the conclusion and agree after many meetings with Chairman and President of The Indian Council Mr Neil LaL that the country is going down the wrong path with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in charge.”

However, the MCB have now dismissed this report and any affiliation to Mr Ahmad.

Speaking to the Glasgow Standard, Tabetha Bhatti from the MCB said: “The Muslim Council of Britain has not made any such assertion.

“Mr Wasif Ahmad is not the chair of the MCB; he is neither in a position of leadership, nor is he associated with this organisation.”

Ms Bhatti added: “The MCB does not endorse political parties.”

The First Minister and the Scottish Government have been at the forefront of recent criticism after Parliament voted to pass the controversial “Gender Recognition Reform (Bill)”.

A poll released by the Sunday times found that four in ten Scottish voters now believe Nicola Sturgeon should resign as First Minister.

In his allegedly false statement, Mr Ahmad cited the gender reform as the turning point for his opinion of the Scottish Government.

He said: “Nothing against someone’s sexual preference but this Trans law goes too far.

“The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon should resign as under her tenure it has been failure after failure.”

The Scottish Government said in 2021 that they had not received meeting requests from any religious organisation since the Bill was announced, nor did they have any scheduled.

According to the 2011 census, around 77,000 Muslims live in Scotland – including the current Cabinet Health Security, Humza Yousaf, who voted for the gender bill in 2022.

Brooke Harwood