EU Referendum: Vote Leave or Remain?

Part 1

The day before yesterday’s live debate summarised the very problem with the EU referendum with both sides making generic sloganistic appeals with little detail. When detailed “facts” were presented during the debate as in the past weeks, they consistently either lacked credibility or were downright lies. Both the Remain and the Leave campaign have consistently presented untruths as facts for the public to digest, with both sides pointing out each other’s misinterpretation of selective facts. If anything the contest is a question of who is misleading the public the most, as with general elections also.

Amidst this atmosphere of confusion, those supporting Britain’s exit (Brexit) from the EU, that is the Leave campaign have appealed to the fear of immigration whereas the Remain campaign have appealed to the fear of economic uncertainy. The emotional strings and slogans are hard at play, while intellectual points are inconsistent and/or incoherent and vague.

Today’s referendum will have a very small number of Remain supporters who will actually have an genuine intellectual certainty of what they are voting for. On the other side will also be a very small number of Leave supporters who will have an intellectual clarity as to what they are voting for. The majority of votes, however, will be carried by the unsure majority who could lean either way or are lead by the concern of immigration or fear of a major economic downturn.

I, for one, will not be voting for Remain or Leave, as I do not have the intellectual clarity that I believe a credible voter should have before casting their vote. And we should do away with this sloganistic, “Claim your right” and “people died for your right to vote” etc – Stop. Nobody died for me to be confused in a voting booth. The outcome of a referendum, or elections generally, should not be decided by the votes of the unsure majority out of some misplaced sense of patriotic duty to vote. Such a decision to vote while unsure or simply gravitating towards fear of immigration, if your a Leave supporter, or leaning towards Remain, if you fear an unproven economic downturn, is foolish.

For those unsure of who to vote for it is perfectly sound and reasonable to avoid voting by mere instinct and avoid contributing to this mass unsure vote.

As with all elections and political changes in Europe, Muslim community leaders who normally preach for us to focus on individual self-perfection and avoid Ummah politics will now be preaching the importance of participation in voting against the seemingly anti-Islam, anti-immigration Leave vote, as if the Muslim community will fare better should Remain win. No doubt the Leave campaign are not exactly Islam friendly but this simplistic reactionary support for Remain is one out of desperation rather than clear thought as is always the case when our community leaders are fractured, telling us to vote x and some tell us to vote y. Considering Remain will most likely win would Muslims fare any better following a Remain victory?

The decades long and current anti-Muslim stance that pervades British society and has become the norm has all occurred while the UK has been part of the EU. Should the UK remain in the EU, this atmosphere would therefore remain the same, and the Political Correctness which is nonexistent when it comes to Islam in the press would remain the same in the newspapers should Leave win (highly unlikely).

Islamophobia is no longer the reserve of political fringe groups like BNP and Britain First but is an essential part of the electoral campaign of many mainstream political parties now. Not convinced? – Ask Donald Trump.
Trump had to fight off other rivals within the Republican Party (one of America’s mainstream parties, akin to the Conservative Party in the UK. While Islamophobic sentiment has become mainstream, this has allowed fringe groups to be seen as more acceptable as they are increasingly striking a cord in the sentiment of people generally. We find this trend increasingly in Europe with Germany’s Pegida Party who is anti-immigration and peddle the myth and fear of a shariah take-over. New to the scene is the AFD Party who is the first to have a political manifesto which primarily targets Islam and Muslims. Never since the second world war has such parties gained traction and support in Germany. Note these anti-Muslim parties are being monitored closely for any sign of antisemitism or racism, by authorities but xenophobia to Muslims and fear mongering towards Islam is all perfectly acceptable. Meanwhile Switzerland has banned minarets to preserve its European identity. Italy takes it a step beyond by not recognising Islam as a religion altogether, while further banning new mosques from being built in the northern Lombardy region, while Austria votes for its first major right wing party which bans sermons in arabic, the European Court of Justice approves the banning of headscarves in the workplace although individual countries such as France, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Denmark and Germany have already banned the headscarf in public institutions, and let us not forget the genocide of Muslims in east Europe around the time the first EU military failed for over 4 years to stop the genocide before NATO grudgingly stepped in, hence few are even aware of a European Army. Fast forward today and the Priminister of Slovakia Robert Fico has stated Islam has no place in his country – he is now the President of the EU.

On the other hand, the unsure majority who will vote Leave have been inclined by the fear of Turkey joining and immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan coming to the UK, refugees who would not be here for a war caused by who I wonder?

The net effect of the EU Referendum on Muslims is nothing. Muslims have been used a political football by both camps and all Western states. This is clear as day. Only recently after the Omar Mateen attachked the gay nightclub in the US, our very own Muslim MP Sadiq Khan labelled this as “an attack against our freedoms” thus promoting the freedom versus Islam narrative (something Donald Trump is refined in) even though it had been proven Omar Mateen was gay himself and had a vengeance against ex-lovers – nothing to do with Islam. Sadiq Khan is for the Remain camp. As for the Islamophobia of the Leave camp, it speaks for itself.

Muslims need to ask more importantly, should we really vote for either two sides of the same coin?

Ultimately, Remain will almost certainly win whichever way you vote. In the unlikely event of Leave winning, the changes in the UK will be only as cosmetic as the live debate was.

Part 2, We discuss why it was always inevitable for a Remain victory, and what lessons Muslims living in the UK and the West can take from this.

Nizal Hussain – Straight Talk