Muslim Impact Forum launches in London with call to challenge far-right

LONDON

A new organization aimed at helping British Muslims strengthen their global influence, enter politics and counter the far-right launched in London on Thursday with the support of former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf.

The Muslim Impact Forum held its launch event at Palestine House in central London, with the goal of connecting Muslim leadership, expertise and resources to “co-develop solutions to global challenges.”

Delivering the keynote address, Yousaf warned about growing hostility toward Muslims.

“You can see in the UK alone, the rise of the far right, driven by anti-Muslim (sentiment),” he said. “That’s not just common to this country. It’s common to Europe. And of course, we can see also in the US as well.”

He argued that Muslims have the means to respond.

“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,” he said. “We can strategically align our skills, our talent that actually can solve these problems to the betterment of the whole of humanity.”

He urged Muslims to take a more active role in challenging far-right narratives.

“In this city, less than two weeks ago, we had 150,000 people march behind Tommy Robinson,” he said, referring to a British anti-Islam campaigner.

“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 organize, we have to mobilize and we have to be strategic.”

Yousaf, who announced he will not stand again in the Scottish elections next year, said he intends to continue working internationally.

“Even though I leave frontline politics, I would love to be able to work with governments … because I’ve got a responsibility, I think, on a global stage, to do what I can to make this world a much better place,” he said.

'A tipping point'

Professor Javed Khan, director of the new think tank Equi, said that Britain was at a “tipping point.”

“We need many more people at the top of government, in every government in this country, across the four nations, and in other governments that can influence, sit at the top table and make a difference on behalf of the Muslims,” he said.

He highlighted the size and youth of the community.

“In this country, there are 4 million Muslims, and that number is growing fast. But of those, 50% are under the age of 25, one-third are actually under the age of 15. So it’s a very, very young community,” he said.

Khan added that the economic contribution of British Muslims exceeds £70 billion ($93 billion) a year – “more than the West of England” – and called on leaders to give young people hope for the future.

“If it does nothing else, I hope (the Forum) gives them hope … that we can use our collective energy, our intellect, resources and our influence to try and create a country and other countries that will create a future for them, that we can be proud (of),” he said.