UK's minorities alliance backs 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign, Muslim activists group does not

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Recently First Lady of the United States, Mrs Michelle Obama, sported the campaign and posed for the camera in solidarity with the kidnapped Nigerian girls while holding the sign "Bring Back Our Girls." 

Pictures: Screen grab from MPACUK (except, bottom-left by GMA)

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Ahmadiyya Times
By Staff report | May 11, 2014

Global Minorities Alliance, a UK based rights organization, has condemned the cruel act of abducting more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, which, the organization says, "has brought grief and despair to families in Nigeria and across the world."

“The world cannot accept the abduction of schoolchildren as a tool to enforce any political, religious or extremist agenda” said Shahid Khan, GMA's Vice-Chairperson, while holding a sign bearing the awareness raising slogan 'Bring Back Our Girls'.

In a press release, GMA demanded the immediate release of the girls and called on all nations to step up any efforts to secure their safe return.

The worldwide campaign is being run under hashtag #BringBackOurGirls on Twitter.

Recently First Lady of the United States, Mrs Michelle Obama, sported the campaign and posed for the camera in solidarity with the kidnapped Nigerian girls while holding the sign "Bring Back Our Girls."

Meanwhile, a UK based Muslim organization, Muslim Public Affair Committee (MPACUK,) has decided not to support the campaign and has gone all out to counter the message supported by Mrs. Obama.

MPACUK website, in an article by Raza Nadim, has posted several images of its affiliates holding banners with messages countering Mrs. Obama's message and denouncing the US and the Obama administration policies.

Raza Nadim believes supporting the worldwide #BringBackOurGirls campaign for release of the kidnapped Nigerian girls equates to benefiting 'political elites.'

"[W]hen MPACUK saw her [Mrs. Obama] picture we just had to respond:" wrote Raza Nadim.

"I don’t support #BringBackOurGirls being hijacked by the political elite because," Nadim claims, "they don’t really care."

"The support is for their own political gain," Nadim added.

Questioning their motives, Nadim asked "Why are the political elite silent about the constant atrocities committed against the Muslims in Palestine?"

For MPACUK to not support the campaign to free the kidnapped girls in Nigeria, Nadim also cited a lack of concern by the US and the UK for "Muslims being ethnically cleansed in Central African Republic?"

"We don’t need their support. Neither do the girls," Raza Nadim declared.

According to a line in Raza Nadim's byline-bio on MPACUK website, he does want the "Ummah to be free."

MPACUK website says the organization's vision and objectives include its 'aim to counter the influence of the Zionist lobby' and seek 'a revival of Islamic civilisation.'

MPACUK's antic didn't sit well with Ahmadiyya Times' chief editor Imran Jattala, who took his opposition to the micro-bloging website, Twitter where he posted multiple messages:

"A Muslim activist organization in the UK @MPACUK has gone full force to derail #BringBackOurGirls campaign against Boko Haram atrocities."

"I say @MPACUK shares Boko Haram ideology, otherwise why would they go all out to suppress world's efforts against it?"

Mr Jattala also wrote to add to this story.

"Efforts to free hundreds of Muslim teens girls kidnapped by an extremist group threatening to sell them, is a worldwide campaign initiated by civilized ordinary people, only after the local government appeared to do nothing about it for weeks," wrote Mr Jattala for this report "This is neither president Obama initiated campaign, nor initiated by any government."

"It is rather uniquely insensitive that a Muslim organization will sink so low as to reject the goal of the campaign, which is to win freedom for young kidnapped Muslim teens, over it's personal hatred for some of the supporters of the campaign," added Mr. Jattala

"You have to be a pretty sick lot of individuals to be willing to let hundreds of teen girls rot as hostages in Boko Haram camps, only because you individually don't care much for some of the people who are lending a helping voice."

An email to Global Minorities Alliance seeking comments on MPACUK's position has not been responded to as of this writing.



--  UK's minorities alliance backs 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign, Muslim activists group does not


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