Islamists and the far left are collaborating to exploit anti-British sentiment as a means to seize control of the country, an influential commentator has warned.
The author and commentator warned that since aligning with the Palestinian cause on Oct. 7, 2023, far left groups in the UK have shown support for actions by groups like Hamas, leading to significant protests across England.
Mr. Najmi’s own ideological journey started from being born into a “pretty liberal Muslim” family in Kuwait, to leaving Islam while living in Pakistan as a teenager, and then moving to England.
“There is trouble brewing,” he said, adding that there are a number of Islamists in the UK who “are riling people up, and if something were to happen, they would activate themselves.”
He said that the far left and Islamists “are just opposed to the existence of Britain.”
“It’s not about Gaza, it’s an opportunity to take hold of Britain, in one way or another, [and] have their influence,” he said.
“They latch on to any topic, which supports anti British sentiments, it doesn’t even matter what it is,” he said.
Islamism and Communism
“There used to be communist parties within Pakistan,” he said. “Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was the founder of Pakistan, was Marxist,” he added.“If you read any of his speeches or any of his thoughts, they indicate that he was Marxist and he wanted to create sort of a combination of Islam and socialism within Pakistan,” he said.
Ali Jinnah died within a year of Pakistan being independent in 1948.
“That didn’t come to fruition, but there were other people who took that baton,” Mr. Najmi said.
He noted that Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto led the People’s Party of Pakistan on an Islamic socialist agenda in the 1970s.
“He started nationalising everything at first, starting with good things, as all socialists and communists do, he started getting a lot of support, then all of a sudden he said he was going to nationalise everything,” he said.
Bhutto was overthrown by his army chief Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and was executed in 1979. Zia-ul-Haq went on to establish an Islamic state and enforce sharia law.
‘Old-School Communist’
In Britain, Mr. Najmi said the Rochdale by-election, which was won by George Galloway of the Workers Party of Britain in a contest dominated by debate over the Gaza conflict, was a “dark moment.”“It just so happens that the left is more organised, the far left is far more organised than anyone else,” he said.
“People are saying [Mr. Galloway] he’s not a communist because he’s anti-woke, well we know that he’s an old-school communist,” he added.
“I see it as a dark moment for Britain, I see people on every side supporting him just because he’s against the establishment. And I’m like, well, the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.”
2029
Last month, GB News commentator and political leader Nigel Farage said that by 2029 there will be a “serious Islamist force” in Parliament.Mr. Najmi said that a Trump-style halt to immigration “would be a sensible thing to do.”
“Because you get most troubles from those countries, right? So stop it from there. If we do that, then the pipeline of the extremism that is coming through is going to be blocked,” he said.
“Hezbollah would not be here. Hamas would not be here. ISIS would not be here. And al-Qaeda would not be here. Taliban would not be here,” he said.
Rishi Sunak
In response to the pro-Palestinian protesters beaming “from the river to the sea” onto Parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed the nation, saying that: “The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison.Mr. Sunak hit out at “Islamist extremists and the far right,” calling them “two sides of the same extremist coin” that “feed off and embolden each other.”
“What is this far right ghost of Christmas Past that we keep on talking about,” said Mr. Najmi, criticising the speech.
“We don’t have a problem with the far right, it is a very small minority,” he said.
Islamophobia
He said that the concept of Islamophobia was being used to silence criticism of Islamist extremism by conflating it with racism towards Muslims.“If you believe in Christianity, you’re naturally anti-Muslim, in that sense, not the person but the person believing in those things,” he said.
For instance, he said that polygamy, which is commonly practiced in certain Islamic countries, is prohibited in the UK.
“These are things that are diametrically opposed to Western ideology, our cultures and our values,” he added.
But he said that “the more you keep on normalising it ... the more that you keep on having to adjust in your laws for them.”
Recently some MPs’ comments on Islam have caused major political storms.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in late February that Islamists are now “in charge of Britain” after Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said that politicians had received threats over their stance on Israel and Gaza.
In February, MP Lee Anderson claimed that London Mayor Sadiq Khan had “given our capital city away” to Islamists, which led to Mr. Anderson being stripped of the Conservative whip.
“So-called moderate Muslims have come about and started crying about Islamophobia,” Mr. Najmi said.
“Where were you guys when a lot of your people were chanting from the river to the sea on our streets? They were being clearly anti-Semitic, actually calling for the death of the Jews.
“Where were you people when the Batley Grammar School teacher was hounded out and still in hiding, but now all of a sudden Islamophobia is a problem?” said Mr. Najmi.
