Muslim Vote drive is supported by groups under investigation over extremism fears

A CAMPAIGN to get Muslim voters to back pro-palestine candidates is supported by two groups under investigation over extremism fears, The Telegraph can reveal.

The Muslim Vote is a nationwide group attempting to coordinate voters to protest against candidates they believe have not been sufficiently supportive of Palestine at the ballot box.

Among the list of its two dozen backers are the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend).

Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, named the two organisations earlier this month as among those to be assessed as to whether they meet the new definition of extremism.

Mr Gove said in Parliament that MAB, which he described as the “British affiliate” of the Muslim Brotherhood, was a group that gave “rise to concern for their Islamist orientation and views”.

He added that Mend, which promotes participation by British Muslims in voluntary bodies, would also be assessed against the new definition.

Both groups strongly condemned the Government’s announcement, with MAB accusing Mr Gove of trying to “politicise anti-extremism” and Mend challenged him to repeat his claims outside of Parliament.

But Tory MPS have questioned whether The Muslim Vote (TMV) website should be investigated, or even be allowed to stay online, because of its associations with the two groups.

The website provides a list of constituencies where there is a greater than 10 per cent proportion of Muslim voters, alongside how their current MP voted in the November Gaza ceasefire vote.

The campaign reads: “2024 is the first time the Muslim community is organising – and this alone is a big victory for future elections. Ultimately success is that the Muslim vote acts as one and emphatically supports those who backed the ceasefire and protests against those who did not.”

A spokesman for Mend said the organisation was “one of dozens of Muslim organisations endorsing the Muslim vote campaign”.

“No one would expect anything less than the largest Muslim civil society organisation in the UK fighting Islamophobia (Mend) to support the biggest grassroots Muslim political movement in a generation (TMV).”

They added: “Mend is a force for good in society, working with faith and non-faith organisations to ensure community cohesion. The Government’s attempt to put us on an extremism list, to distract us from shining a light on their complicity in the Gaza genocide, will not distract us from our work to empower communities.”

TMV has been approached for comment.

‘Success is that the Muslim vote acts as one to support those who backed the ceasefire and protests’