George Galloway claimed the IFE played a “decisive role” in his election victory to become MP for Bow and Bethnal Green. Yesterday the Sunday Telegraph reported Galloway had used IFE influence in the area to consolidate his victory:
George Galloway, a London MP, admitted in recordings obtained by this newspaper that his surprise victory in the 2005 election owed more to the IFE “than it would be wise – for them – for me to say, adding that they played a “decisive role” in his triumph at the polls.
Mr Galloway now says they were one of many groups which supported his anti-war stance and had never sought to influence him.
Indeed he does. Galloway has now sprung to his own defence, as he does, and in a quick and dirty entry in his blog, distanced himself from the IFE and now pleads ignorance of their brand of sectarian, supremacist politics.
A speech I gave in the mosque after my last election victory was secretly taped and has been obtained by Dispatches almost five years on. The IFE were, in fact, one of several groups who helped in my successful antiwar campaign and I credited them for their help – as I did to all of the other groups, from Greens, Liberals, Tories to Trotskyists, who helped my defeat of a pro -war MP.
I don’t know who is or isn’t a member of the IFE, and I have only the haziest knowledge of what they stand for, but the organisation has never approached me for help or attempted to influence me. Again, my lawyers are watching.
I can picture people in the East London Mosque offices, reading this statement and thinking:
“You lying, drunken, cowardly, two-faced kaafir”
And in this case, they might just be right.
Here is a picture of Galloway and Abjol Miah. George now no longer remembers who Abjol is, what he stands for nor how much he owes him for his success.
The things you have to do to get a seat in Parliament these days
31 Comments
The tape of Galloway’s Victory speech at the LMC where he thanks the IFE is not secret, it has been on the web for years, for example here:
http://www.salaam.co.uk/themeofthemonth/september03_index.php?l=52
Thanks Boredofitnow. The whole “secretly taped” thing is complete bollocks from the indefatiguiable liar Galloway.
Even if this statement were true, it is a deeply disturbing admission of a case of serious negligence on the part of a parliamentary candidate. Part of the duty of care owed by a prospective MP to his/her prospective constituents is surely to be aware of the sources of his/her support.
Exactly what would be the reaction, one wonders, if GG had responded similarly to allegations that he had garnered support from a White supremacist organisation? What understandable outrage there would have been had he similarly suggested that he neither knew who these people were; and, further, he similarly implied that he did not care about their politics just in case they acted as a means of his elevation to power.
This man is a disgrace to Parliament and – more importantly – the good name of his constituents.
Abu Faris
This from the man who quotes from the extremist Front Page magazine !
You are seriously comparing East London mosque to nazis. Insane.
Ironic you dont criticise MPs with links to extremist Hindu or Zionist groups.
Well why would you?
1. ELM ARE also his constituents. ELM is THE biggest and most popular mosque in the area.
2. His constituents democratically voted him into power in one of the most extraordinary victories in British election history because his Labour predecessor supported an illegal war which most of her constituents vehementy opposed. Her support is the disgrace.
Two more bullet points to add to your list:
3.ELM is the headquarters of a secretive, fundamentalist political network, the IFE. The Islamic Forum of Europe is dedicated, in its own words, to changing the “very infrastructure of society, its institutions, its culture, its political order and its creed … from ignorance to Islam”.
4. The ELM is closely associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami party, a Maududist sectarian, religious-supremacist political group active in Bangladesh and Pakistan.
5. Spitoon is an inconsequential obscure website with links to numerous anti-Muslim organisations and individuals
AbdulHamid Al Manchesteri
Bizarre. You state you’ll ban people for calling others munafiq then gladly use these terms.
“Bizarre. You state you’ll ban people for calling others munafiq then gladly use these terms.”
Hardly. For most Islamists, any ‘kaafir’ is lying, drunken, cowardly and two-faced whether they are or not. Especially one who has sold the ELM and the IFE down the river now that he has achieved his aim of securing a seat in Parliament.
AbdulHamid
In which case you must be an Islamist since you said “And in this case, they might just be right.”
Fair enough.
Yeah, and you’re Isaiah Berlin.
Oh look, there’s that word “munafiq” again.
Why are you guys so touchy about the M word..where as you can name call and post derrogatory pics of real people with impunity…M word seems to rattle you
fuck off Yaseen, you leeching, two-faced munafiq.
wow, a secret cabal organising to influence power….sounds like another religious group i know…oh right, they are mostly white so its ok for them
Do you mean the you-know-who’s have taken over the you-know-what, Mahboob? Spit it out man, don’t be coy.
what is it you don’t understand dipstick?
Cat got hold of your tongue, bwoy?
what a poof
what a comeback.
Profanities…not very befitting of your beautiful name Yaqub, I am not f****** of anywhere, it is my duty to crawl under the skin of the M’s
Yaseen, as munafiq leech yourself, that is your right.
Criticism of East End Islamists is usually followed by an eloquent and intelligent discussion such as the one above. Illustrates the brain dead nature of the IFE (incredibly fucking erratic) crowd.
“Everyone’s a munafiq, baby”
Since “munafiq” seems to have entered currency with our commenters, I have no choice left but to un-ban its usage. Knock yourselves out.
Right, while here at spittoon we are blessed with intellectually rigorous, non polemical arguments. You are hilarious.
” a secret cabal organising to influence power….sounds like another religious group i know…oh right, they are mostly white so its ok for them”
yeah right, posting conspiracy theories is so intellectually rigorous and non-polemical.
So I suppose discussion of Israeli lobbies influencing power, (see Peter Oborne’s Dispatches episode) is a mere conspiracy theory – and this IFE episode is completely factual?
Did Oborne actually use the words “a secret cabal organising to influence power”? If he did, he’s a conspiracy-mongering loon.
And secondly, which parts of this Dispatches documentary would you say are not factual?
Islamist jew-hatred is so revealing, don’t you think?
Jew-hatred is certainly endemic in the Muslim community in the UK.
this is not about the use of wording or even so called facts about IFe (who indecently I could not care less about) , its about the double standards you show when it comes to Israeli lobbies and compared to those who wish to organise themselves within the Muslim community.
just watched the hilarious skinhead andrew gilligan. It seems the racist white elements within the labour party along with the fail ex awami league gangsters with seventies haircuts have come to terms that they no longer have a hegemony over east london and cannot hack it. Oh yeh and you have the ex-islamist clown brigade along for the ride, bleating about how ‘Muslims believe in God and that and some people don’t so…community cohesion…’ Epic Fail.