Katy was at the mosque in Carrington Street on Friday 13th helping Adbul Khan, council candidate for Hillhead ward, and member of the mosque, to register members of the mosque on the electoral role. With nearly 500 members, the mosque plays a key role in the local Muslim community. As registration forms were handed out, Katy, Abdul and our Lib Dem council candidate for Anderston City, Ann Laird, mingled with residents to discuss the issues that concerned them.
One group of young men, who initially indicated they were turned off by the political process, started to engage as they could see we were taking their concerns seriously, whether they were about the state of the city’s roads, Britain’s foreign policy and racism.
Katy commented:
“Islamophobia and the relentlessly negative image of Muslims in the media as terrorists or fanatics is clearly a real worry for the young men I spoke to. They feel nobody is speaking up for them but aren’t sure this can ever change. However when I pointed out that Abdul being a candidate for us has already meant we as a party locally are becoming more involved and aware of the local muslim community’s views, they welcomed this.
As a party we have consistently opposed the war in Iraq, stood up for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees and championed diversity and civil liberties. In the face of Labour authoritarianism (introducing ID cards, ‘cracking down on “bogus” asylum claims’), Ming Campbell and others in our party have continued to promote a positive message about the contribution ethnic minorities can make to this country.
I would encourage any young people who are frustrated with not getting their voice heard to get involved with their local party, come along to meetings, hold candidates, councillors and MSPs to account. The Lib Dems would welcome this as we have always been an inclusive party. In fact, Ming Campbell has set up a special fund to support candidates from ethnic minorities to fight winnable seats. So come and get involved!
