Religion and Politics (21/08/14)

Religion and politics go back a long way, but the scale of the allegations against the Muslim mayor of Tower Hamlets, Luftur Rahman, are completely unprecedented in modern times, as this report from The Times explains. 

I suspect that some of the claims will be extremely difficult to prove although others (such as personation at polling stations, postal voting fraud and the payment of council employees to canvass for Mr Rahman during working hours) are are likely to stand up, if witnesses come forward to substantiate the allegations.

So it will be interesting to see what happens in the weeks ahead because if people have been encouraged to vote in a particular way because of their religious beliefs, then this will amount to reverse discrimination.

Which will be a terrible hammer blow to everyone who has fought for equal opportunities over the years, for people to be treated on their qualities and merits - not on the basis of their religion, colour, sexuality, gender or disability.       

Muslims told to ‘vote for mayor or be damned’

Voters in Tower Hamlets were allegedly told they would be rewarded in the afterlife if they voted for Lutfur RahmanJustin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

By Dominic Kennedy - The Times

Britain’s first elected Muslim mayor has been accused in the High Court of exerting unlawful “spiritual influence” over voters, who were allegedly told that it was their religious duty to vote for him.

Electors were told that they could hope for rewards in the afterlife if they voted for Lutfur Rahman, but might be punished in the next world if they supported his Labour rival, documents filed at the court claim.

Trials for spiritual influence were prominent in Victorian Ireland, but there has been none in recent history.

Mr Rahman, an independent social democrat, was elected in May by 3,000 votes over John Biggs, of Labour, to be the executive mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London. There are 65,000 Muslims in the borough.

A cross-party group of four voters has filed a petition asking the court to declare his election corrupt and invalid. A trial is expected this year. Bangladesh-born Mr Rahman, who first won office in 2010, has strenuously denied all claims of wrongdoing.

The detailed allegations, seen by The Times, also show that Mr Rahman’s supporters are accused of intimidation, voting fraud and giving voters free food.

Alleging spiritual influence, the petitioners noted that 101 Islamic leaders in the borough signed a letter to a Bengali newspaper supporting Mr Rahman. Some of the signatories were linked to religious organisations that received £25,000 each in grants from his council.

The mayor’s supporters allegedly told voters leaving prayers that the Labour candidate intended to close the mosques and Islam would be safe only if Mr Rahman were re-elected.

Activists outside a polling station allegedly told Bengali voters: “Islam is in danger. You must vote for Lutfur otherwise you are not a good Muslim.”

The petition states that the consequence of this influence was that voting Labour would be un-Islamic and sinful, but supporting Mr Rahman was virtuous and Islamic. “Voting for [Mr Rahman] may, in the premises, attract awards in the hereafter; and voting for Mr Biggs, being a sinful activity, may lead to punishment in the hereafter.”

Spiritual influence was cited in election petitions in 19th-century Ireland, where Roman Catholics were said to have been swayed by the clergy into voting for candidates in favour of Home Rule and tenants’ rights. On one notorious occasion, a candidate was stripped of his seat in Galway, leading to a prosecution of a bishop and nearly 20 priests until the case collapsed.

The petition makes other claims to back its allegation that the election was unfair. It states that the “No to John Biggs for mayor” campaign published comments that two senior members of Tower Hamlets Labour party were “shaytaan [Satans] in disguise”.

Twelve days before the vote, Mr Rahman held his election launch, attended by 1,000 people, at a banqueting hall. They were allegedly given an expensive meal with lamb chops to start. The petitioners say the free dinner was designed to influence voters.

On election day, polling officers allegedly spoke in Bengali to voters, urging them to elect Mr Rahman. At the count, a counting agent allegedly said in Bengali: “If Lutfur doesn’t get in then I will lose my job.”

Mr Rahman’s spokesman dismissed the claims. He said: “They repeat allegations made before and which have never been proven, despite thorough investigations by the Metropolitan police and Electoral Commission. We look forward to vigorously contesting them in court.”

John Williams, the returning officer, who is also accused by the petitioners of mishandling the election, said: “Strict rules ensured that polling station staff did not speak to voters in any language other than English. Every complaint I received as returning officer I investigated and where necessary passed to the police. The role of returning officer is politically neutral and my only concern was to deliver a free and fair election with a result that accurately reflects the will of the electorate.”

The Metropolitan police is still investigating the election.

The allegations

Personation at polling stations Voters were turned away because others had already voted in their names

Postal voting fraud Mr Rahman told a meeting of activists that they must fill up to 250 postal vote application forms each. Everyone was given 250 of the forms

His representatives told voluntary organisations that they must obtain votes for him by illegal means if they wished to retain council grants. On estates, supporters asked for blank postal ballots and filled them in. Electors on estates with external post boxes did not receive their postal ballots. Mr Rahman’s supporters removed and used them

“Black shirts” At a council meeting, a supporter of Mr Rahman compared supporters of the Labour candidate John Biggs to Oswald Mosley’s blackshirts

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4103946.ece London Bangla, a Bangladeshi newspaper whose owner, Oluir Rahman, has received £11,000 in grants under Mr Rahman’s mayoralty, claimed that Labour was running a racist campaign similar to the British National party

Undue influence and/or interference with voters A young woman was permitted to “help” an older woman to fill in her ballot paper at a polling station. A Bengali family was so intimidated that they were willing to enter only when provided with a police escort

Bribery Mr Rahman’s party, Tower Hamlets First, uses a house as its logo. On polling day voters were told that they should vote for the house logo to get a house

Spiritual influence Mr Rahman’s supporters conveyed to voters that voting for his opponent would be un-Islamic and sinful but voting for the mayor would be virtuous and Islamic

Payment of canvassers Young men working for the council canvassed for the mayor during working hours

Breach of returning officer’s official duties Counting staff placed 47 ballot papers for Mr Rahman in a bundle that should have had 50 while Mr Biggs’s votes were put into bundles of more than 50

Source: further particulars filed in High Court in Tower Hamlets election petition. The mayor and returning officer have several weeks to respond