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'''Salma Yaqoob''' (born 1971) is the leader, and former vice-[[chair (official)|chair]], of the [[Respect Party]] and a [[Birmingham City Council]]lor. She is also the head of the [[Birmingham]] [[Stop the War Coalition]] and a spokesperson for [[Birmingham Central Mosque]] <ref>[http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:FcmFPayLtLYJ:www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oct/25/ukcrime.race1+salma+yaqoob+birmingham+central+mosque&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk Salma Yaqoob: rumours and riots | UK news | The Guardian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
'''Salma Yaqoob''' (born 1971) is the leader, and former vice-[[chair (official)|chair]], of the [[Respect Party]] and a [[Birmingham City Council]]lor. She is also the head of the [[Birmingham]] [[Stop the War Coalition]] and a spokesperson for [[Birmingham Central Mosque]] <ref>[http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:FcmFPayLtLYJ:www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oct/25/ukcrime.race1+salma+yaqoob+birmingham+central+mosque&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk Salma Yaqoob: rumours and riots | UK news | The Guardian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Background==
Salma was born in [[Bradford]] in 1971 but later moved to [[Birmingham]]. She is a qualified psychotherapist.<ref>[http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Booktopia-Salma-Yaqoob Booktopia: Salma Yaqoob - Red Pepper<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


==Activism==
==Activism==

Revision as of 12:10, 13 May 2010

Salma Yaqoob
50jpg
Leader of the Respect Party
Assumed office
2005
Preceded byLinda Smith
Councillor for Birmingham City Council
Assumed office
2006
Personal details
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Bradford, England
Political partyRespect
Alma materAston University
OccupationPsychotherapist[1]
Websitewww.salmayaqoob.com

Salma Yaqoob (born 1971) is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque [2]

Background

Salma was born in Bradford in 1971 but later moved to Birmingham. She is a qualified psychotherapist.[3]

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.[4] At the Clash of Civilisations conference, organised by Ken Livingstone 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".[5] She has also rejected claims that the London bombings were a government conspiracy.[6]

Politics

2010 general election

Yaqoob stood in the 2010 general election for the Respect Party in the Birmingham Hall Green constituency [7], and came second to Roger Godsiff 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. [8].
The Green Party had stood down its candidate in favour of Yaqoob after a members vote.[9] The Green Party leader Caroline Lucas stated she believed "that Salma will make a very good MP" [10]
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..."[11].

2006 UK local election

Yaqoob was elected with 49.4% of the vote in the Sparkbrook 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".[12]

2005 general election

In the 2005 general election, 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 [citation needed]. 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 had faced harassment and death threats 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'.[13]

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.[14] [15]

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. [16] [17] [18]

Recognition

In 2006, Yaqoob received the Lloyds TSB 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 the most powerful in the UK. [19]

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.[20] [21]

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. [22] [23] [24]

According to The Guardian newspaper, Yaqoob is "the most prominent Muslim woman in British public life".[25]

Notable Media Appearances

Yaqoob has made five appearances on BBC One's flagship Question Time programme. [26] Her first was in Skegness, 19 January 2006, shortly before her election as a councilor. [27]. She returned in Preston (October 2006), [28] followed by her home town of Birmingham on the of 8 February 2007 [29] and Bath on 12 February 2009. [30]

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.[31] 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 Afghansistan [32]

In April 2010, The Guardian ran a feature article on Yaqoob [25] claiming that "Yaqoob is one of a small group who has a good chance of making history as one of the first British Muslim women MPs.".

Yaqoob has also made appearances on the BBC's Politics Show,[33] This Week [34] and Daily Politics programmes.[35]

References

  1. ^ Booktopia: Salma Yaqoob - Red Pepper
  2. ^ Salma Yaqoob: rumours and riots | UK news | The Guardian
  3. ^ Booktopia: Salma Yaqoob - Red Pepper
  4. ^ Salma Yaqoob, 33 UK news | The Guardian
  5. ^ Sunny (2007-01-23). "The mayor, Daniel Pipes, Salma Yaqoob and others". Pickled Politics. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  6. ^ "Yaqoob shows respect for official 7/7 version". The Stirrer. 2009-07-02.
  7. ^ "Line-up of Birmingham's General Election candidates". Sunday Mercury. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  8. ^ Election 2010 result - Birmingham Hall Green BBC. Retrieved on 07-05-2010.
  9. ^ "Birmingham Green Party : Elections". Birmingham Green Party. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  10. ^ "The Greens' best hope". Morning Star. 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  11. ^ "Selly Oak MP Lynne Jones 'not happy' over candidate". BBC. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  12. ^ Salma Yaqoob (2006-05-13). "The women won it". Comment is free, Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  13. ^ The Stirrer
  14. ^ "I will not give in to threat". The Birmingham Mail (full article). 2005-04-29.
  15. ^ "I will not give in to threat". The Birmingham Mail (includes date). 2005-04-29.
  16. ^ "Kill threat to Birmingham councillor". The Sunday Mercury. 2009-08-16.
  17. ^ "Man appears in court over threats to kill Sparkbrook councillor". The Birmingham Mail. 2009-08-16.
  18. ^ "UK: Racist threatens councilor to death". The Palestine Telegraph. 2009-08-19.
  19. ^ "The Muslim News Awards 2009 Panel of Judges". The Muslim News. 2009-02-27.
  20. ^ "Power 50: No. 11. Salma Yaqoob, Birmingham City Council". The Birmingham Post. 2008-07-15.
  21. ^ "Power 50: No. 24. Salma Yaqoob". The Birmingham Post. 2008-07-15.
  22. ^ "Muslim Women Power List". The Guardian. 2009-03-25.
  23. ^ "Meet the 13 most powerful Muslim women in Britain". The Times. 2009-03-21.
  24. ^ "Muslim Women Power List". Equality and Human Rights Commission. 2009-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ a b "Respect candidate spearheads quiet revolution to get Muslim women involved in politics". MediaGuardian. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  26. ^ "Salma Yaqoob". IMDB. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  27. ^ "BBC News : Programmes : Question Time : What you've said: 19 January 2006". MediaGuardian. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  28. ^ "BBC News : Question Time : This Week's Panel". BBC. 2006-10-19. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  29. ^ "BBC News : Question Time : This Week's Panel". BBC. 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  30. ^ "BBC News : Question Time : Last Week's Panel". BBC. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  31. ^ "BBC News : Question Time : This Week's Panel". BBC. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  32. ^ "Salma Yaqoob : Question Time on Afghanistan : 10.12.09". BBC. 2009-12-10. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
  33. ^ "Representing all communities". Salma Yaqoob. 2010-03-30.
  34. ^ "This Week: Salma Yaqoob". BBC. 2006-09-22.
  35. ^ "Cllr Salma Yaqoob challenges Khalid Mahmood MP on the Politics Show". Birmingham Respect. 2009-02-16.
  • Solidarity in Practice, Salma Yaqoob (Page 60, Stop the War:The story of Britain's biggest mass movement, Andrew Murray and Lindsey German, ISBN 1-905192-00-2)

Articles

External links

Party political offices

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