800,000 Muslims voted for Brexit, say Leave leaders

LONDON: Nearly 800,000 British Muslims voted to leave the European Unions, influential leaders of the Leave campaign have said.

Matthew Elliott, CEO of the Leave Campaign, and Daniel Hannan, leave campaigner and historian, told audience at an event in Westminster that Brexit is a reality made possible by enormous contribution of British Muslims. The event – titled Brexit Delivered - to celebrate the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union was organised by the campaign group called ‘Muslims For Britain’. The event was attended by a large number of parliamentarians, businessmen, lobbyists and members of the British Pakistani community in Britain.

Among the attendees were Jacob Rees Mogg, leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council; Matthew Elliott, CEO of the Leave Campaign; Daniel Hannan, editor in chief of The Conservative, Saqib Bhatti MP for Meriden; as well as several other high profile ministers.

The chief executive of Muslims for Britain, Atifa Shah said: "This room today is filled with exceptional British people ready to harness existing and new relationships and seize opportunities at a global stage leading in technology, business, research, education and philanthropy pitching Britain to the world as the amazing place it is."

Atifa Shah said that British Muslims had campaigned up and down the country to make Brexit a reality, adding that Boris Johnson won mandate of the people by effectively putting out the message of making Britain great again.

Speaking to Geo.tv, Daniel Hannan who played an integral role in Brexit said: "A lot of people assumed that all British Muslims would take the Labour party line but I think people were much more independent-minded than that. They were thinking about the opportunities that post-trade Britain would provide including a closer relationship with all of the Indian subcontinent."

Hannan said that Britain had lost its sovereignty and independence while being in the EU and Brexit has given UK the opportunity to take back control of its destiny. The leading conservative commentator in his speech, he added that "identity is civic rather than ethnic".

"Muslims for Britain played a key role in the referendum bringing together those people who believed that Brexit offered a positive opportunity for the UK. I supported Brexit because I believed it would make Britain a more international and enterprising country," said Matthew Elliot. 

During the lavish reception held for the honorable guests, a painting with Islamic caligraphy was gifted to Daneil Hannan by the President of Muslims for Britain, Iftikhar Awan.

Iftikhar Awan said: "We wanted Britain to be independent, in the EU we were not economically or politically independent. We wanted the power to determine Britain's relationships with other trading partners and now we have it."

Mr Aftab Chughtai who serves as the Chairman of Muslims for Britain offered another perspective on Brexit and said that EU imposed unnecessary restrictions on the UK especially when it came to immigration. He believed that the Pakistani diaspora was facing difficulties in inviting their family members to the UK because of the pressure from the EU but after Brexit, the situation would change, he said.

Chughtai added that Brexit is about free economic trade and ownership and this concept is linked with Islamic economic philosophy of free trade and commerce. He said Islam supported the values of free market and Brexit was about the future of this great country which is linked with the future of tens of millions of people including millions of Muslims.