Mohammed Shafiq
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mohammed Shafiq (born 25 January 1979) is a British media personality known for his commentary on
Islam in the United Kingdom Islam is the second-largest religion in the United Kingdom, religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census recording just under four million Muslims, or 6.0% of the total population in the Unite ...
. Shafiq has spoken out against extremism and terrorism since 2001, condemning the
2007 Glasgow Airport attack The Glasgow Airport attack was a terrorist ramming attack which occurred on 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven at the glass doors of the Glasgow Airport terminal and set ablaze ...
. In October 2013, he was warned by anti-terrorist police about death threats being made by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group. In January 2014, he led a campaign in reaction to
Maajid Nawaz Maajid Usman Nawaz (; born 2 November 1977) is a British activist and former radio presenter. He was the founding chairman of the think tank Quilliam. Until January 2022, he was the host of an LBC radio show on Saturdays and Sundays. Born in ...
tweeting an image from the
Jesus and Mo ''Jesus and Mo'' is a British webcomic created by an artist using the pseudonym Mohammed Jones. Launched in November 2005, the comic is published on its eponymous website once a week now. Set-up The comic is simply drawn, typically using a sin ...
cartoon. He was criticised by many in the media and social media as whipping up hatred against Nawaz.


Career


Ramadhan Foundation

In August 2005, he became press spokesman of the Ramadhan Foundation, a group aimed at helping young Muslims in the United Kingdom and fostering
interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...
. Whilst representing the Foundation, he has become a regular face in British media, commenting on British-Muslim issues and perspectives.


Muslim Unity Convention

Shafiq was the project manager for the first Muslim Unity Convention, held in the aftermath of the
7/7 attacks The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on London's public transport during the morning rush hour. ...
in 2005 at the
Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall is a concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build in the 1990s, and hosts over 250 performances a year. It is home to the 165-year-old Hallé Orchestra as well as to the Hallé ...
in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. He was a member of the organising committee of the second International Muslim Unity Convention held in October 2009 in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
.


Media

Shafiq has appeared regularly on television and radio since 2005, when the newly elected Pope,
Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...
made a controversial speech in Germany, and Shafiq appeared on
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
and BBC News 24 to discuss the issue. Shafiq was a senior presenter and head of News and Politics on
Ummah Channel Ummah Channel was an Islamic television channel based in the United Kingdom. It launched in August 2009 by replacing 9X's former Sky EPG slot on Sky Digital. It was closed down at the end of 31 July 2017 and is no longer broadcasting. Channels ...
and presents various shows including the Debate Night show and is also the main English-speaking presenter. Shafiq also regularly reviews the newspapers on
Stephen Nolan Stephen Raymond Nolan (born 20 August 1973) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter for BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio 5 Live. Nolan is the highest earning BBC broadcaster in Northern Ireland. In the 2023–2024 financial year h ...
's weekend late night show on Fridays at midnight on
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
along with former Conservative MP
Jerry Hayes Jeremy Joseph James Hayes (born 1952 or 1953) is a British barrister and former Conservative politician, who was the MP for Harlow in Essex from 1983 until he failed to be re-elected in 1997. He subsequently returned to practising criminal law. ...
. He has been accused by MEP
Daniel Hannan Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere (born 1 September 1971) is a British writer, journalist and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 to 2 ...
of being a "rent a quote" beloved of journalists for his controversial views,


Rochdale sex trafficking case

In interviews and in published articles regarding the Rochdale sex trafficking gang, Shafiq has made controversial statements regarding members of the Pakistani community who had been involved in grooming girls, blaming them for harbouring a racist attitude towards white girls. He observed there was an over representation of Pakistani men convicted of child sexual exploitation and on-street gang grooming in which the majority of victims are white.


Al-Shabaab threats

In October 2013, Shafiq was alerted by anti-terrorist police that he, as well as a number of other prominent Muslim figures in the UK, had been specifically mentioned in a propaganda video created by Al-Shabaab, the terrorist group responsible for the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya. The video attacked Shafiq and others for "selling out" and had urged jihadists in the UK to take action, citing the
murder of Lee Rigby On the afternoon of 22 May 2013, a British Army soldier, Fusilier#United Kingdom, Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was attacked and killed by Islamic terrorism, Islamist terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale n ...
as an example to follow. Shafiq was later offered special protection by the police.


Political affiliation

Shafiq was a member of the Labour Party for two months in 1997 but resigned when the government introduced tuition fees against the promises before the election. He joined the Liberal Democrats. In February 2008, he was asked to resign as vice-chairman of Rochdale Liberal Democrats, following comments he posted online under the name "Deeplish Lad", accusing a colleague of racism and using "tricks from the BNP handbook" – a move said by Lib Dem sources to be "the final straw". He returned to the Labour Party in 2015.


Personal life

He was born to parents from Pakistan. Shafiq attended Springhill High School in Rochdale and
Bury College Bury College is a further education college located within the Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. The college offers A-Levels, BTECs and diplomas. Overview Bury College is a further education college providing qualifications f ...
. He is married, having four daughters.


Controversies


Maajid Nawaz Controversy

In January 2014 Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate
Maajid Nawaz Maajid Usman Nawaz (; born 2 November 1977) is a British activist and former radio presenter. He was the founding chairman of the think tank Quilliam. Until January 2022, he was the host of an LBC radio show on Saturdays and Sundays. Born in ...
, a secular Muslim, posted a "
Jesus and Mo ''Jesus and Mo'' is a British webcomic created by an artist using the pseudonym Mohammed Jones. Launched in November 2005, the comic is published on its eponymous website once a week now. Set-up The comic is simply drawn, typically using a sin ...
" image on his
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account. The image depicts Jesus saying "Hey" and Mohammed saying "How ya doin". Shafiq then posted on Twitter "We will notify all Muslim organisations in the UK of his despicable behavior and also notify Islamic countries."BBC News: "Cartoon row: Deselection call for Lib Dem Maajid Nawaz"
See video from 3:18
Shafiq further Tweeted "Ghustaki Rasool Quilliam," linking Nawaz's anti-extremist think tank with an Urdu term which means "defamer of the prophet".Nick Cohe
"The Liberal Democrats face a true test of liberty"
''The Observer'', 25 January 2014
Maajid Nawaz has since received a number of death threats. Shafiq also reportedly organized an on-line petition to
Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
to have Nawaz removed as a Liberal Democrat candidate, though when the organizers of the petition, named as SA et al., were contacted by the press they distanced themselves from Shafiq. The
online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
asking Clegg to suspend Nawaz eventually had 22,927 supporters, a counter petition calling for Clegg to discipline Shafiq received 8,375 supporters.


References


External links

*
Ramadhan Foundation

Mohammed Shafiq Twitter

Ashahed Muhammad interviews Mohammed Shafiq in Geneva at the Durban Review Conference FinalCall.com

BBC News article

YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafiq, Mohammed Living people 1979 births British Muslims British television presenters People from Rochdale Labour Party (UK) people British people of Pakistani descent