Scottish Muslims urged to boycott Labour

The call came yesterday from a newly formed ethnic community group which has decided to take a strong stand against Labour and urge Asians and Muslims to vote for alternative parties.

Organisers of the Lothian Muslim Voting Committee said most members of their community had backed Labour in the past but they could no longer advise continued support because of the party’s record on the war.

Leaflets calling on Muslims to follow the committee’s recommendations are being handed out in city mosques. These suggest that, for the first vote in the parliament election, Muslims should vote SNP in five of the Edinburgh constituencies and for the Liberal Democrats in the sixth: Edinburgh West.

For the second vote, Muslims are being advised to vote for Tommy Sheridan’s Scottish Socialist Party (SSP).

The call will be a matter of concern to Labour which, until now, could count on the support of Muslims. In Lothian, there are about 10,000 Muslims. There is also a large Muslim community in Glasgow, although, so far, there has been no sign of Muslims in that city being advised locally to take the same approach.

However, Abdul Ibrahem, chairman of the Lothians committee, urged Muslims in Scotland to vote against parties which supported the Iraq war.

These include the Tories, though Mr Ibrahem pointed out that about 90 per cent of Asians and Muslims in Edinburgh and Scotland had always voted Labour.

Mr Ibrahem said: "We are calling on people to switch their vote to people who have met our interests better than Labour have. We are disillusioned with Tony Blair, Jack Straw and other politicians because of their attitude on the war."

He pointed out that, for the first time, Muslims had held a successful hustings meeting in Edinburgh at which the audience had voiced their concerns.

It was highly unusual for Asians and Muslims to turn up for such a meeting, and they rarely show an interest in politics, but about 120 people had turned up for the hustings, Mr Ibrahem said.

He added: "I cannot speak for other areas of Scotland but I am hoping they adopt the same position as ourselves. We are keen to get the vote organised along the lines we suggest."

Colin Fox, who heads the SSP top-up list in Lothians, said the decision of the Muslims to break with Labour was very significant, as was its recommendation that support should be given to the SSP in the second vote.

"The Muslim community are among the most loyal supporters of Labour but now they feel betrayed," he said.

A Labour spokesman claimed the party had not detected any backlash among Muslims.

He added: "Jack McConnell has made a number of non-media visits to mosques across Scotland and has always received a good welcome.

"Many people recognise that, faced with difficult decisions, Tony Blair acted in the best interests of Britain and the international community."