UK: Muslim Vote volunteers facing death threats slam Labour rhetoric
The Muslim Vote (TMV), a campaign which supported pro-Palestine candidates standing in the general election, has condemned Labour after its volunteers faced threats and abuse.
A series of posts on X by the group detailing abuse it had received comes after Shockat Adam, the recently elected independent MP for Leicester South, separately said he faced a potential death threat last Friday.
TMV said on Sunday that it has been "inundated with hate mail, including threats and vile messages".
It claimed it has faced a significant increase in Islamophobic hate since defeated Labour candidates began blaming TMV and independent pro-Palestinian MPs for abuse they themselves faced.
TMV named Jon Ashworth, the former MP for Leicester South that Adam unseated in the recent general election, as one of those defeated candidates.
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Ashworth has said that he hid in a vicarage from "screaming" pro-Palestinian protesters during the election campaign and was labelled "genocidal Jon".
Hate messages
Although Ashworth has not accused Adam of intimidation, he claimed last week that the election campaign in general "was run by a minority of bullies, and loud mouths".
He explicitly slammed The Muslim Vote for creating a list of candidates it urged people to vote for to "punish" MPs who did not vote for a ceasefire in parliament.
One message sent to TMV, which the campaign posted on social media platform X, said: "Expect a lovely delivery in the mail TO YOUR HOME ADDRESSES".
It threatened that "blood is going to soak your offices and businesses", and promised that TMV organisers "will die on your knees like the Islamic Dogs you are."
Another message, describing TMV organisers as "big fat bearded Muslim child grooming rapists of english white children", urged them to leave England and go to Israel to fight with Hamas.
Separately, Adam revealed in a statement last Friday that he was forced to be absent from a parliamentary debate on Gaza because he was "dealing with a potential death threat".
"I want to thank the Leicestershire and Cambridgeshire police for their professional, prompt and courteous assistance in dealing with this incident," he added.
This came hours after Ashworth had posted on X asking why Adam was not at the debate.
What? But our MP in Leicester South said his victory was for Gaza. Where is he? https://t.co/7xviG3yyCX
— Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) July 19, 2024
Last week, Ashworth deleted a post claiming activist Majid Freeman, charged with terror offences, was a "key campaigner" for Adam.
MEE understands that Ashworth deleted the post shortly after receiving a warning from lawyers acting on Adam's behalf.
On Sunday, The Muslim Vote called on political leaders to condemn the hate it has been receiving and said the media must "avoid amplifying divisive rhetoric".
MEE has contacted the Labour Party for comment.
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