Salma Yaqoob
Encyclopedia
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair
, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Council
lor. She is also the head of the Birmingham
Stop the War Coalition
and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque
.
in 1971, but the family later moved to Birmingham
, where she was raised. She describes herself during her formative years as being a "tomboyish girl" who played football on the streets of "Alum Rock"
.
Yaqoob had to challenge her father's "cultural fears" in order to be allowed to enrol at university and eventually attended Aston University
where she studied biochemistry and psychology and became a qualified psychotherapist. At the age of 24 she met her husband, Aqil Chaudary, a general practitioner, and together they have 3 boys, all of whom live next door to Salma's parents in Birmingham. Yaqoob has revealed her family are supporters of Aston Villa FC.
on 20 January 2007, Salma Yaqoob described the 7 July 2005 London bombings
as "reprisal attacks against American aggression", and described the terrorist perpetrators as "barbarians".
She has also attacked claims that the London bombings were a government conspiracy
.
meeting, Yaqoob and another Respect party councillor, Mohammed Ishtiaq, sat with their arms folded and refused to participate in a standing ovation at a meeting at which Britains most highly decorated serving marine and Afghanistan veteran Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher
was a guest. This led to widespread criticism from other councillors, including allegations that it was a disrespectful act. The two councillors argued that they were protesting against "false patriotism" by politicians, while defending their own history of support of individual troops.
of the Labour Party short of 3799 votes. Yaqoob's 12,240 votes was an increase of 13.9%, with an 11.7% vote swing from Labour to Respect. The Green Party had stood down its candidate in favour of Yaqoob after a members vote. The Green Party
leader Caroline Lucas
stated she believed "that Salma will make a very good MP".
The retiring Labour MP Lynne Jones
had also backed Yaqoob's candidacy ahead of Labour's Godsiff, saying "Salma Yaqoob is an excellent candidate of great ability who, as a councillor, has shown that she works hard for her constituents. I have a lot of time for her." and "In the Hall Green constituency ... I am not happy with the endorsement of the Labour candidate...".
ward of Birmingham City Council
in the 2006 UK local elections. She claimed that her election "challenged the traditional conservatism that denies leading public positions to women, and challenged the old order, which treats our communities as silent voting fodder. And it was only possible because we united people around a progressive message of anti-racism and social justice".
She was re-elected to the post in May 2010.
, she stood as the Respect candidate for the Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency against Labour's Roger Godsiff
MP, with the backing of the Muslim Association of Britain
. She finished in second place, ahead of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative
candidates, and with 27.5% of the total vote.
During the campaign, Yaqoob faced harassment and death threat
s from al Ghurabaa
, a Islamist group later banned under the Terrorism Act 2006
. Al-Ghurabaa claimed that it is an act of apostasy
for Muslims to participate in Western democratic elections, and its members defaced her election posters with the word 'Kafir
'.
In August 2009, Birmingham man Stuart Collins appeared in court charged with threatening to kill Yaqoob. He was also charged with racially and religiously aggravated harassment, and as of June 2011 sentencing is pending.
Asian Jewel Award for Public Service Excellence while Harper's Bazaar
magazine named her in the top thirty list of British women, alongside Kate Winslet
, all of whom they considered to be 'women shaping Britain'.
In 2008, she was voted to eleventh place in the Birmingham Post
s Power 50 list of the most influential people in the city. She was included in the newspaper’s list again in 2009.
During this year, she was also included in The Daily Telegraph
s annual list of 'Top 100 left wingers'.
In 2009, Yaqoob was included in the Muslim Women Power List run by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in association with The Times
and Emel magazine.
According to The Guardian
newspaper, Yaqoob is "the most prominent Muslim woman in British public life".
flagship Question Time
programme.
Her first appearance was in Skegness, 19 January 2006, shortly before her election as a councilor. She returned in Preston (October 2006), followed by her home town of Birmingham on the of 8 February 2007
and Bath on 12 February 2009.
On 10 December 2009, Question Time was held in Wootton Bassett
, a town where the bodies of UK troops killed in Afghanistan pass through and are informally mourned. Salma Yaqoob stated that she "would be proud to have my sons defend this country" and argued for better support for UK troops and their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
She made her sixth appearance on the show on Thursday 10 June 2010, when it was broadcast from Plymouth. She was joined on the panel by Ben Bradshaw
, Jeremy Hunt, Katie Hopkins
and Toby Young
.
Yaqoob has also made appearances on The Politics Show
, This Week. and Daily Politics
(all BBC) programmes.
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
lor. She is also the head of the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque
Birmingham Central Mosque
Birmingham Central Mosque, is a mosque in the Highgate area of Birmingham, England, run by the Birmingham Mosque Trust. It is one of the largest Muslim centres in Europe....
.
Background
Yaqoob's parents, Mohammad and Gulzarda Yaqoob, emigrated to the UK from Pakistan in the 1960s, and her father worked in a mill before joining the Royal Mail. They had 7 children - 3 daughters and 4 sons. Yaqoob was born in BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
in 1971, but the family later moved to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, where she was raised. She describes herself during her formative years as being a "tomboyish girl" who played football on the streets of "Alum Rock"
Saltley
Saltley is an inner-city area of Birmingham, east of the city centre. The area is currently part of the Washwood Heath ward, although formerly a feature of the Nechells ward...
.
Yaqoob had to challenge her father's "cultural fears" in order to be allowed to enrol at university and eventually attended Aston University
Aston University
Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...
where she studied biochemistry and psychology and became a qualified psychotherapist. At the age of 24 she met her husband, Aqil Chaudary, a general practitioner, and together they have 3 boys, all of whom live next door to Salma's parents in Birmingham. Yaqoob has revealed her family are supporters of Aston Villa FC.
Activism
Yaqoob became politically active after the September 11 attacks. Yaqoob was spat at in the streets of Birmingham in the days following the attacks. At the Clash of Civilisations conference, organised by Ken LivingstoneKen Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
on 20 January 2007, Salma Yaqoob described the 7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
as "reprisal attacks against American aggression", and described the terrorist perpetrators as "barbarians".
She has also attacked claims that the London bombings were a government conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
.
Controversy
At a Birmingham City CouncilBirmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
meeting, Yaqoob and another Respect party councillor, Mohammed Ishtiaq, sat with their arms folded and refused to participate in a standing ovation at a meeting at which Britains most highly decorated serving marine and Afghanistan veteran Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher
Matthew Croucher
Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher GC is a member of the Royal Marines Reserve and recipient of the George Cross, the highest British medal for gallantry not in the face of the enemy, for his extreme valour in risking his life to safeguard the lives of his comrades...
was a guest. This led to widespread criticism from other councillors, including allegations that it was a disrespectful act. The two councillors argued that they were protesting against "false patriotism" by politicians, while defending their own history of support of individual troops.
2010 general election
Yaqoob stood in the 2010 general election for the Respect Party in the Birmingham Hall Green constituency, and came second to Roger GodsiffRoger Godsiff
Roger Duncan Godsiff is a British Labour politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath from 1992 to 2010, when he became Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hall Green.-Early life:...
of the Labour Party short of 3799 votes. Yaqoob's 12,240 votes was an increase of 13.9%, with an 11.7% vote swing from Labour to Respect. The Green Party had stood down its candidate in favour of Yaqoob after a members vote. The Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
leader Caroline Lucas
Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas is a British politician. Lucas is the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, and the Green Party's first and only Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom...
stated she believed "that Salma will make a very good MP".
The retiring Labour MP Lynne Jones
Lynne Jones
Lynne Mary Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Selly Oak from 1992 until the dissolution of parliament in April 2010.-Early life:...
had also backed Yaqoob's candidacy ahead of Labour's Godsiff, saying "Salma Yaqoob is an excellent candidate of great ability who, as a councillor, has shown that she works hard for her constituents. I have a lot of time for her." and "In the Hall Green constituency ... I am not happy with the endorsement of the Labour candidate...".
2006 UK local election
Yaqoob was elected with 49.4% of the vote in the SparkbrookSparkbrook
Sparkbrook is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, England. It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within Birmingham City Council.-Etymology:...
ward of Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
in the 2006 UK local elections. She claimed that her election "challenged the traditional conservatism that denies leading public positions to women, and challenged the old order, which treats our communities as silent voting fodder. And it was only possible because we united people around a progressive message of anti-racism and social justice".
She was re-elected to the post in May 2010.
2005 general election
In the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, she stood as the Respect candidate for the Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency against Labour's Roger Godsiff
Roger Godsiff
Roger Duncan Godsiff is a British Labour politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath from 1992 to 2010, when he became Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hall Green.-Early life:...
MP, with the backing of the Muslim Association of Britain
Muslim Association of Britain
The Muslim Association of Britain is an Islamic organisation in the United Kingdom established in 1997.-Anti-war activities:Along with Stop the War Coalition and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it has co-sponsored various demonstrations against the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq...
. She finished in second place, ahead of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidates, and with 27.5% of the total vote.
During the campaign, Yaqoob faced harassment and death threat
Death threat
A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion...
s from al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa
Al Ghurabaa is a Muslim organization which, along with the The Saviour Sect, is widely believed to be the reformed Al-Muhajiroun after it disbanded in 2004 by order of Omar Bakri Muhammad. Other members include Abu Izzadeen and Abu Uzair....
, a Islamist group later banned under the Terrorism Act 2006
Terrorism Act 2006
The Terrorism Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005...
. Al-Ghurabaa claimed that it is an act of apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
for Muslims to participate in Western democratic elections, and its members defaced her election posters with the word 'Kafir
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
'.
Opposition
In April 2005, Yaqoob received death threats from extremist groups and had billboards featuring her image defaced. She believed she was being targeted for being a Muslim woman in the public eye and for working with churches and synagogues.In August 2009, Birmingham man Stuart Collins appeared in court charged with threatening to kill Yaqoob. He was also charged with racially and religiously aggravated harassment, and as of June 2011 sentencing is pending.
Decision to stand down as a councillor
On 7th July 2011 Yaqoob announced her intention to stand down as a Birmingham City councillor, citing health reasons.Recognition
In 2006, Yaqoob received the Lloyds TSBLloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
Asian Jewel Award for Public Service Excellence while Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
magazine named her in the top thirty list of British women, alongside Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, all of whom they considered to be 'women shaping Britain'.
In 2008, she was voted to eleventh place in the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
s Power 50 list of the most influential people in the city. She was included in the newspaper’s list again in 2009.
During this year, she was also included in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
s annual list of 'Top 100 left wingers'.
In 2009, Yaqoob was included in the Muslim Women Power List run by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in association with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and Emel magazine.
According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper, Yaqoob is "the most prominent Muslim woman in British public life".
Notable Media Appearances
Although her first appearance was as an audience member shortly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Yaqoob has made six official appearances on the panel of BBC One'sBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
flagship Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
programme.
Her first appearance was in Skegness, 19 January 2006, shortly before her election as a councilor. She returned in Preston (October 2006), followed by her home town of Birmingham on the of 8 February 2007
and Bath on 12 February 2009.
On 10 December 2009, Question Time was held in Wootton Bassett
Wootton Bassett
Royal Wootton Bassett , informally known as Wootton Bassett, is a small market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001...
, a town where the bodies of UK troops killed in Afghanistan pass through and are informally mourned. Salma Yaqoob stated that she "would be proud to have my sons defend this country" and argued for better support for UK troops and their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
She made her sixth appearance on the show on Thursday 10 June 2010, when it was broadcast from Plymouth. She was joined on the panel by Ben Bradshaw
Ben Bradshaw
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Exeter since 1997, and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport....
, Jeremy Hunt, Katie Hopkins
Katie Hopkins
Katie Hopkins is a British reality television contestant, businesswoman and journalist, best known for her 2007 appearance on the third UK series of TV reality programme The Apprentice, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British businessman Sir Alan Sugar. Hopkins...
and Toby Young
Toby Young
Toby Young, MA, FRSA is a British journalist and the author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, the tale of his stint in New York as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine...
.
Yaqoob has also made appearances on The Politics Show
The Politics Show
The Politics Show is an hour long BBC One television political programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays. The programme usually starts at midday, but is often earlier or later when sporting events clash in the schedules. It was launched in 2003 and was originally presented by Jeremy...
, This Week. and Daily Politics
The Daily Politics
The Daily Politics is a British television show launched by the BBC in 2003. Presented by Andrew Neil and Jo Coburn, the programme takes an in-depth and sometimes irreverent look at the daily goings on in Westminster and other areas across Britain and the world, and includes interviews with leading...
(all BBC) programmes.
Articles
- Global and local echoes of the anti-war movement: a British Muslim perspective, Salma Yaqoob
- Hijab: a Woman's Right to Choose, Salma Yaqoob
- Our leaders must speak up, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- The SWP takes a step backwards, International ViewpointInternational ViewpointInternational Viewpoint is the English-language edition of the monthly magazine of the reunified Fourth International. It focuses on translating articles into English written by socialists in other languages. Its ISSN is 0294-2925....
External links
- Salma Yaqoob official website
- Birmingham Respect - Salma Yaqoob news
- Salma Yaqoob official gallery
- The Guardian, Comment is Free: Salma Yaqoob
- Interview with Democracy Now! June 2006
- War Is Muted as Issue in Britain, but Not for Its Muslims New York Times, April 2005
- Is Islam Endangering 'Europeannesess?' ABC News, Dec 2004
- Salma Yaqoob speaking in Manchester about the need for an anti-war Unity Coalition. Video clip