Talking to young Muslim activists and aspiring politicians a cross-party selection of Muslim parliamentarians discuss the trials and tribulations of being lawmakers in modern Britain.
The My Path to Westminster event was co-organised The Muslim News and the MMK Academy. Participating MPs: Afzal Khan, Labour MP, Shadow Minister for Legal Aid; Anum Qaiser, SNP MP for Airdrie and Shotts; Lord Qurban, Liberal Democrats Peer; Lord Syed Kamall, Conservative Peer & Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Civil Society, Heritage, Tourism, and Growth; Sajid Javid, Conservative MP for Bromsgrove and former Chancellor; Saqib Bhatti, Conservative MP for Meriden, and Vice Chair of the Conservative Party for Business; and Yasmin Qureshi, Labour MP, Shadow Minister for Women & Equalities.
How has faith impacted your journey into politics?
Afzal Khan: Faith is at the heart of it. If you’re honest with yourself as a Muslim, it governs everything we do and think. Therefore, what drove me into politics was the Prophet (pubh). I’ll share two of his sayings. One is that “the best among you are those who bring benefit to others,” which is key in politics. And the second is “a person whose two days are the same is in a state of loss”. So constant improvement and self-evaluation are key to our progress. I always practised those two things, and that’s why I’ve been in politics.
Yasmin Qureshi: Faith is very much at the heart of what a Muslim is. And for me, it is someone who spends their time helping others. It’s that concept of checking that your neighbour has eaten a meal. That kind of philosophy guides me. It’s: respecting and being supportive of human beings.
I’m a mum-of-two under-fives. My goal is to enter politics, but I worry about what will happen to my family, my kids, and my time. How have you dealt with time management?
Anum Qaiser: It’s a real challenge because it’s so intersectional. I am visibly Muslim, a person of colour and a young woman. I talk with my family and friends about feeling like I’ve got lots of people wanting a bit of me and am constantly being pulled in different directions. And you factor in that I live in Scotland and must travel every single week. My recommendation is that you be resilient. I use my faith as an opportunity to take some time out and just connect with Allah (SWT). You must be selfish at times and set your priorities. There have been times when I wanted to do different things, but I simply couldn’t because I didn’t have the energy. It’s tiring. If you’re a man, you have the privilege of being a man. We know that when it comes to online abuse, for example, women are disproportionately impacted. I don’t want to sound all doom and gloom; it is wonderful. I’m supported by a wonderful team of staff, and I wouldn’t be able to do my job without them. But even they have now started taking time out of my diary, so no one interrupts me.
Saqib Bhatti: Having a very understanding partner is a gift. I met my wife at a Tory Party conference. If she hadn’t met me (she’d been in political circles since she was 12), she probably would have been a candidate. She made that sacrifice for me and ran my campaign. She was meant to be here tonight, but because my little one had an ear infection, she’s had to make that sacrifice. There are, of course, those who have kids, are single parents, etc. You can still do it, but the honest answer is that you must juggle a lot. It’s such an intense job, but you should find a way to get involved in politics and engage more because it does make us stronger. There’s a debate going on now around childcare. I’ve seen first-hand the sacrifice that women make. We should do more as a country on childcare and support; it’s a strong conservative message because we believe in family, and we want more women in the workforce. It is great for productivity. That genuinely informs some of my thinking.
How do you deal with the clash between your religious beliefs and the beliefs of your parties and your constituencies? For example, a big issue throughout the UK, particularly in Scotland now, is LGBTQ+ rights.
Lord Qurban: When I got involved with the Liberal Democrats, I knew there were many things they were promoting that I may not be able to support, including LGBTQ issues. I had to be honest with my party and say that there will be times I have to follow my religious principles on certain issues. I hope my party will not force me to vote against my will, and I will never do it. And they knew of my history [of quitting the Labour Party in opposition to the war in Iraq]. If there is something I strongly believe in, I’ll go for it; if there is something I’m strongly against, I’m even willing to quit the party, as I did. And they have never asked me. All these bills that have gone through, all I’ve done is not vote for anything I did not want to, and they have never forced me to do it.
Sajid Javid: I’m Muslim. I voted for same-sex marriage. I don’t think there’s any contradiction in that. We live in a thriving democracy. What defines democracy is not just “ruling by the majority.” It’s the rule with protections for other people who might not form the majority, be they ethnic minorities, religious groups, or whatever those minorities might be. It’s about ensuring equality for people. So, while it’s something that might not personally be for you, it doesn’t mean you should deny that to others. So, if someone else wants a same-sex marriage, but it might not be consistent with your religion, then that’s up to them because it’s ‘the freedom to choose’. If you don’t believe in that, then you’re not going to get very far in politics in Britain. Because this is a country that believes in having the freedom to choose, whether it’s how you feel about your sexuality, about your religion, or whether you have one or not.
To the earlier question about managing your time: MPs want to be in the governing party, not in opposition. And when you’re in the governing party, most MPs —not all, but most—would want to be ministers or cabinet ministers. But the more work you get in government, the more time it takes from you personally, especially in certain roles in the cabinet.
Think about that carefully before you choose a political career, especially in Westminster, but even if you’re in a council, it takes up a lot of your time. The most powerful thing is to have your family and your loved ones on your side because they also get drawn into this world, especially if you’re a prominent government member. Whether you like it or not, your family will get drawn into it, and they didn’t choose that career.
This is a question for Sajid. Could you shed some light on what runs through your head when you must vote for something in a hostile environment? For example, supporting issues related to asylum seekers or serving in a government that threatens to repeal the Human Rights Act—things condemned by human rights groups that don’t chime well with being a…
Sajid Javid: The way that you direct that question, you seem to suggest, unless I misunderstand it, that the fact that someone might be a Muslim should define their politics. Take your example. You talk about the “hostile environment.” I can say this because I looked at it in detail when I was home secretary. The phrase “hostile environment” was first boasted by Labour home office ministers. I’m not making some party-political point. Your race or religion shouldn’t define your politics.
When Rupa Huq, a prominent member of the Labour Party, was at the last Labour Conference and talked about Kwasi Kwarteng being superficially black, I don’t think you would agree with that, because she certainly changed her mind after she said it. In that moment, when she said that, what she was trying to suggest was that somehow, just because someone is black, brown, Muslim, or Jewish, it should define their politics. And anyone who thinks like that—that’s what’s rotten about politics.
Your religion shouldn’t define what political party you can or cannot be in if you broadly agree with most things in that party. The number of attacks I would get from members of the Labour Party, both left-wing and right-wing, who said I must be a bad Muslim because I was making decisions on things they disagreed with when they thought Muslims should go another way You shouldn’t let religion define your politics.
There is a strong perception among Muslim populations in Britain that the system doesn’t operate for individuals like us. Even when told to “engage, engage, engage” with the system, people feel shut out and alienated. How do you engage with those people?
Lord Syed Kamall: My father used to say, “Don’t make your own barriers”. And what I hear from you is that you are creating your own barriers. If you see a barrier, don’t think, ‘I can’t do anything. I’ll just be bashing my head against a wall’. Think of another metaphor. Put a door through the wall. Think of walking around or climbing the wall. Everyone will face setbacks in life. They’ll get people pushing back and being prejudiced; even rich and privileged people who go to private schools get setbacks in life. The sign of a good man or woman is the one who gets up one more time after you knock them down. You will be pushed back, and you’ll be not just part of life but also part of politics.
Anum Qaisar: In terms of joining a political party, you’re not going to find a party with which you are completely aligned. But even before that, it’s important to think about what makes you angry. What are you passionate about—the climate crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, immigration, or the treatment of asylum seekers? Work on that before considering political parties. Through that kind of campaigning, you’ll gain real-life experience. You’ll meet people with similar opinions to yourself, from whom you’ll learn a lot. From there, have a look at all the political parties across the left, the right, and the centre. Speak to parliamentarians, councillors, and other elected officials, and see from a practical perspective what they’ve done. Every single one of us here is a member of Parliament. We’ve all had very different journeys, and that’s important to remember.
Yasmin Qureshi: We set our own limitations and barriers. And if we say there are no limitations, and we’re going to do what we want to do, I think we’ll find that we will be successful. I say don’t put barriers and limitations on yourself.
What’s the biggest thing you wish you knew before you entered politics?
Saqib Bhatti: I also got told I couldn’t do it many times, mainly from my own community; I’m sorry to say, from older Asian uncles. And it was weird because I was the youngest ever president of one of the oldest chambers of commerce in the world. The people who supported me weren’t Asian, and they’re still pushing me to go further. Don’t set your own limitations, but also believe in yourself to keep pushing yourself.
The reason I’m standing here is that I stand on the shoulders of giants. I’ll embarrass Sajid and Syed. When I met Syed in 2015, he was the most senior Muslim in Europe. He led negotiations when the country was going through a massive transition. Sajid was the first British Muslim to be a cabinet member.
When I walked into my selection as a member of parliament, I was against Theresa May’s ex-Secretary of Staff, and I thought I was lost. Before I walked in, I prayed to God. I said, if this is meant to be for me, let it be, and if it’s not, I trust you. On that day, despite being nervous, I picked up the microphone, walked into the middle of the room, and I just took over that office. I won by a landslide. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if people hadn’t come before me.
Look at where we are now. We have our first British Asian Prime Minister. And yes, he’s not Muslim, but he’s very proud of his faith. And we should be proud of that. I’m very optimistic about things, but you must find your journey and inner resilience to fight the battles that are going to come ahead of you.
Sajid Javid: Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve anything, even well-meaning people, because they don’t know what they’re talking about. If I had listened to them, I wouldn’t (forget politics) be at the jobs that I had. I wouldn’t have gone to university. I wouldn’t have gone to college. So that’s the main message you’ve heard from everyone on this panel.
And then on a lighter note, I’m not going to say look at my Wikipedia page, but what I will say is that it just reminded me of this time last year, when I went to an Eid reception that the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson held at Number 10 that invited many fantastic British Muslims from across society.
In his speech, he said, “I’m proud of this conservative party that’s had the first Muslim Culture Secretary, the first Muslim Local Government Secretary, the first Muslim Business Secretary, the first Muslim Chancellor, the first Muslim Home Secretary, and that first Muslim Health Secretary happens to be the same person, my mate Sajid.”
Lord Syed Kamall: I was inspired by my parents and what they told me, there’s no limit to what you can achieve. If you believe in Allah and yourself and work hard here. There is no limit to what you can achieve.
Photo: Lord Qurban Hussain, Sajid Javid MP, Lord Syed Kamall, Afzal Khan MP, Anum Qaiser MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Saqib Bhatti MP, and Channel 4 News journalist Fatima Manji, who chaired the event. (Credit: Ayaz Ali/The Muslim News/MMK)
