By Maira Butt
An organisation with the aim of helping Muslims to get into politics has launched a London branch.
The Muslim Impact Forum held its inaugural event in London with a keynote address by Humza Yousaf, the former first minister of Scotland.
In it, Mr Yousaf warned about the rise of the far right, which, he said, was “driven by anti-Muslim [rhetoric]”, with far-reaching influence across both the US and Europe.
“In this city, we had 150,000 people march behind Tommy Robinson,” he said, referring to the anti-Islam campaigner and convicted criminal, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
“Now we have two choices. We can either bury our heads in the sand and hope that it all passes over or we can do what I think the Muslim Impact Forum is trying to do. We have to work together. We have to organise, we have to mobilise and we have to be strategic.”
In his view, part of the solution to the divisive politics in the main stream is for increased representation of Muslims within the arena of politics.
“It’s not about a Muslim agenda. It’s about pushing good people into positions of power.”
He said Muslims “must enter politics” as it is the “arena in which you can make the biggest difference.” He called on the Muslim community to “invest” in Muslim talent.
The Muslim Impact Forum (MIF) intends to connect Muslim charities, businesses and institutions to work together on both a global and regional level. Muslim leaders and community members have often criticised the poor co-ordination between grassroots groups on a horizontal level and with authority figures and businesses vertically.
The new organisation aims to foster collaboration rooted in Islamic principles through the exchange of knowledge, the forging of partnerships and the launching of initiatives.
The London launch, at Palestine House in High Holborn last month, follows the international group’s annual forum held in Istanbul earlier this year. Its next instalment will be held in Turkey again next April.
Mr Yousaf appeared to have his sights on the international stage as he said: “Even though I love frontline politics, I would love to be able to work with governments … because I’ve got a responsibility on a global stage to do what I can to make this world a much better place.”
Also at the London launch, Professor Javed Khan, director of Equi, a new think tank, emphasised the youth of the British Muslim community, with 50 per cent under the age of 25. He calculated that the economic contribution of British Muslims exceeded £70 billion a year, which he said was “more than the west of England”.
Among MIF’s offerings, including the nurturing of leadership, its website lists talks, podcasts, events, a prize fund, and awards for Muslim impact, now open for nominations.
Last year’s categories included best female leader, best new social impact charity, best global charity, and the services to the earth award. They represent a forward-thinking and distinctly modern approach to charity and philanthropy, with categories for female leadership, international work and sustainability.
Tensions across the UK have been high after Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has raced ahead of Labour in polls with an anti-immigration campaign. Reform’s policy to deport people with indefinite leave to remain was branded “racist” by Sir Keir Starmer.
The success of Farage and Reform is in line with a wave of support for right-wing populist policies across Europe and the United States. The movement has coincided with an increase in reported hate crimes against Muslims.
The Muslim Impact Forum was formerly known as the Global Donors Forum, founded in 2008. Its London branch comes after the launch of similar groups in recent months including the British Muslim Trust (a group providing advocacy, support and resources for victims of Islamophobic abuse), and the British Muslim Network, which stresses that it does not intend to compete with the Muslim Council of Britain.
“The Muslim community is huge in number, very wealthy, very generous. We have amongst our numbers, entrepreneurs, business owners, NGOs, charities, philanthropists, social activists, politicians, journalists and so much more,” Mr Yousaf said.
“We can strategically align our skills, our talent that actually can solve these problems to the betterment of the whole of humanity.”
Since the 2024 General Election, there are a record 25 Muslim MPs, a rise from 19 in 2019. This means Muslims account for 3.8 per cent of parliamentary seats, in contrast to 6.5 per cent of the UK population who identify as Muslim.
Among the most visible of Muslim MPs is Zarah Sultana, who won a seat for Coventry South for Labour and had the whip removed in last year when she voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap. She went on to form an independent party with Jeremy Corbyn.
Shabana Mahmood, who is a Muslim and MP for Birmingham Ladywood, was recently appointed home secretary. Sayeeda Warsi, who served as a foreign minister in the Conservative government led by David Cameron, is now a member of the House of Lords.
Muslim voting patterns have shifted significantly following the British government’s support for Israel through its military campaign in Gaza from 2023. It prompted a wide-scale defection of Labour support to independent candidates running on the Muslim vote in areas with large Muslim communities.
At the time of the elections last year, Labour — traditionally the political home of British Muslims — saw widespread resignations at council level. Ms Mahmood alone lost 40 per cent of her usual votes in the elections with Labour losing an estimated 300,000 votes overall.
