Religious lobbies, rather than Muslims as such, supplied the most coherent case for Yes: the chamber voted two to one for the proposition, but its best-rated arguments were chiefly about secular government. The result was decisive; the reasoning was more qualified, and more internally divided, than the question’s wording.
The floor’s most-respected Yes case said: “The problem is not with Muslims but with the power of any kind of religious lobby.” Another well-rated voice called the Muslim lobby “well funded, well organised and used to trading influence for votes”, while others linked its perceived reach to block voting, Gaza and Gulf investment in British institutions.
The harder-edged Yes voices went further, arguing that “Muslims should have no influence in UK” and folding Parliament, dual citizenship, religious law and social conservatism into the same indictment. That was a different argument from secular neutrality, but it plainly had a presence in the room.
No voters did not deny that religious dogma should stay out of government: the strongest No voice opened, “No religious movement should have any influence on government.” Their central distinction was that “British Muslim communities exercising their right to organise, campaign, and vote” represented ordinary democratic participation, while a reply drew the line at “ordinary citizens who happen to be Muslim”; another compared Muslim influence unfavourably with that of the Israeli lobby and the established church. The two sides were often answering different questions — institutional privilege on one side, Muslim citizens’ legitimacy in public life on the other.
The wider argument here is the UK’s unsettled definition of secularism: whether it means equal distance from every faith, or a more selective suspicion of Islam amid disputes over Gaza, Islamophobia, sharia and the established churches. The room’s clearest consensus was not that one community had proved its power, but that religious influence in policy should face a much higher bar.
A decisive Yes verdict, then, built on a secular principle but carried a more combustible argument in its wake.
30 Opinions
Separation of church and state should be maintained. Get the churches out of the lords, and get rid of any recognition of sharia law. We are in danger of introducing blasphemy laws at the moment with the talk of 'islamophobia' . we should be free to criticise any religion and its practices.
YES But no more so than the Jewish & Christian lobbies.. There's no place in modern politics & Britain for the various fairy stories promoted by religion. And religious lobbies have no place in British politics either!
There are too many muslims involved in parliament already. Many holding dual citizenship and voting for airports in Pakistan , speaking against banning consanguinity , against banning facial coverings, and supporting the Pro Pals in every way. Islam is misogynistic and seems to encourage violent opposition within our society with the police too often acting as appeasers. Iworry that under Labour the ability to question this will soon be illegal and counted as Islamophobia.
No religious movement should have any influence on government. Frankly ridiculous that superstition holds such a sway over people in their own home life, much less extending that influence to the rest of us.
Compared to the Israeli lobby and the established church, Muslims' influence is negligible.
You are either for democracy and the right of a specific interest group to exert influence in favour of their views or you're not. The more a group grows then in a democracy it would logically become more influential. If you believe muslims have influence greater than their numbers support then come up with better ones that the rest of the country will support or have more children!
The Muslim lobby is well funded, well organised and used to trading influence for votes. It is not Islamophobic to disagree with their opinions. But the left thinks it is, so they are in an awful bind.
The secular state is probably the greatest achievement of western democracy.
Government must remain secular. Religion should be kept well away from the corridors of power. The Muslim block vote is of massive importance, particularly to the Labour party and increasingly to the Greens. This includes the working party on what has become effectively a one sided blasphemy law, with the evidence submitted on the new definition of Islamophobia (rebranded as anti muslim hate) appearing to have been erased and unavailable for scrutiny.
I would highlight I don't think this is just Muslims but all of the major UK religious groups wield a disproportionate amount of power