🧵It’s been a tough week, a tough 8 months & years for many of us who call ourselves ‘progressive Muslims’. For years we who took the fight to right wing in our community - arguing against those who said disengage with British politics because it offered us nothing but crumbs 1/ How our faith inspired justice movements, from the Red Mullahs, the anti-colonial struggles, anti-apartheid struggle, to the anti-racist struggle in Trade Union movement & Lab Party. That social movements of diverse communities that together could build power to change politics 2

Enough is Enough - the deeply racist undertones that frame how the media & politicians talk about British citizens who happen to be Muslim - because they oppose war crimes & racist dehumanisation of Palestinians is no less valid than when parts of the Jewish community raised 1/ their concerns about anti-semitism. It’s deeply racist to minimise it by claiming this is some sort of ‘Iranian plot’. As if Muslims are puppets or any less intelligent not to draw their own conclusions about the complicity of the UK in war crimes, or are less worthy because 2/

🧵1/ Cant quite believe it’s 30 years since Stephen Lawrence was murdered by racists & we took to the streets as part of decades long campaigning for justice by families the black community & groups like Newham Monitoring Project. Stephens murder wasn’t an isolated case- 2 years earlier in 1991 Rolan Adams, 15 was stabbed to death in Eltham by a gang shouting the N word. 2/

🧵1/ Some thoughts on the 20th anniversary of the Feb 15th Stop the War on Iraq global marches as one of the founders of the Stop the War coalition & one of the organisers of the March in London. Firstly the coalition was a deliberate break from previous theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/f… 2/ anti-war marches. The driver of the change for an inclusive, explicitly anti-racist coalition was the experience of 1st Gulf War in 1990 when black groups such as NMP set up ‘Black People Against War in the Gulf’ because mainstream movement failed to connect it to anti-racism

1/ Climate justice means recognising that inequality within countries between the rich & poor can’t mask the continuing inequalities as a result of racialised capitalism between the global North & global South whatnext.org/wp-content/upl… 2/ that means simply saying end fossil fuels without recognising energy poverty in the global South means making energy a public good. Similarly there is no climate justice without addressing inequality - living wages, social protection & public services

The dismantling of climate action in 3 steps 🧵First rich countries don’t deliver their legal commitments under the Koyoto Protocol, they promise if you give us a new Treaty (Paris) we promise to increase our pre 2020 actions. New Treaty rips up climate theguardian.com/environment/20… 2/ architecture- no more legally binding targets based on science - it’s a do what you fancy pledge system so they don’t have to do their fairshare of effort. Result 2.8c warming likely. Now they want to rip up both the Convention & Paris - by making false promises that getting

If after 2 weeks of #COP27 you are wondering what the hell is going on & are wading through countless texts. Will try a 🧵We started the Summit as climate catastrophe, debt crisis, inequality & poverty & global ‘cost of living crisis’ is devastating global South countries 2/ STOP DOING HARM - not rocket science is it. We are close to breaching 1.5c & heading to 2.8c. The USA, UK, EU etc failed to do their fairshare & cut emissions for 30 years. Now pretend to be champion of 1.5c - but expanding fossil fuels. So want to scrap any mention of equity.

In 14th C the Kings & Queens of England, France, Portugal & the Pope devised the Doctrine of Discovery to legitimatise colonisation explicitly stating that black/brown/indigenous people have no intrinsic dignity as human beings & their lands could be exploited for economic profit For 500 yrs colonial domination marched hand in hand with the Enlightenment ideas of human freedom & individual rights underpinning the ‘racial contract’ The purpose of the State was to secure privileges & advantages for full white citizens & maintain subordination of non whites.

🧵I feel like a bloody broken record - #Pakistanflood is climate apartheid we have warned about for decades – the rich use their wealth to seek safety and leave the poor in the South to burn/drown. 1/3 of Pakistan under water, 1000+ lives lost, homes, schools, hospitals & gone.

https://twitter.com/chilledasad100/status/1523223572696936455

It's a toxic interplay between climate, hunger, structural inequality & a rigged global economic system that has left the poor hanging by a thread and states overwhelmed so the wealthy can continue to profit. Its not new record breaking heatwaves and floods are the new reality

Folks rightly getting angry about Tanzanian security forces using live ammunition to force 1000s of indigenous Maasai people off their land in name of ‘western’ conservation - are in for a shock. Here’s WWF being accused of colonial mindsets and dishonesty survivalinternational.org/news/12683

Colonial mentalities at #COP26 run so deep that every year - western media & white led NGOs pick a none white country to blame. Yet the biggest wreckers of the climate the USA, UK, EU get applauded for their leadership. Is that because they are white? huffpost.com/entry/biden-cl… Just look at this unquestioning headline about the UK who are expanding oil & gas, aviation, refusing to do it’s fairshare of effort, have cut aid, blocked loss & damage, blocked Covid vaccines pretending it cares about the poor.

whilst we wait for #COP26 plenary -2 takes on coal announcement #COP26. 1st from rich countries who are moving away from coal already, pat us on the pat we are saying no to coal (ok not really all coal - just unabated). Yay says big western NGOs this is a huge win a cut in carbon 2nd take from poorer countries. Science says end all coal, oil & gas for 1.5c. Let's do that equitably. Also we have 3.5 billion people without access to clean energy, so ending coal (which we rely on & you got rich on) must go hand in hand with tech & $$ for us to leapfrog coal

1/ I was struck by how many parallels there are with #COP26 & the disastrous #COP15 in Copenhagen. There are the obvious ones, both cold, wet COPs in northern Europe. Both hugely expensive for the global South, with poor planning on basic things like affordable accommodation 2/ Both billed as the last chance to save the planet. In 2009 Obama had just taken over from Bush who left the Kyoto Protoco. In 2021 Biden took over from Trump who left the Paris Agreement. In 2009 the promise of $100 billion was made, in 2021 it was broken (again).

1/ #COP26 Whilst leaders jet in private jets for their speeches tomorrow, the agenda fight is taking place. This isn't as some dull journalists dismiss as 'debating brackets'. Imagine the Chair of a meeting, deciding the agenda for the meeting. He decides that your critical issue 2/ is an AOB, or maybe that it needs to be taken offline, to discuss how to discuss it next time, whilst the majority of the meeting is given over to what colour to paint the manager's office. Decisions over what and where issues and whose voices count matter.

1/ To add to the #hottakes for #COP26. There will be lots of mentions of 'lack of trust '. Let me help unpack what that means.
1. Rich countries have made so many promises to developing countries and then broken them, that they put Pinnochio to shame
Want some examples here we go 2/ Ever wonder why we're heading towards 2.7c warming when this is the 26th Climate Summit. After years of negotiation rich countries agreed to cut emissions - but between 2008 to 2012 they only managed an aggregate cut of 5%. And that was enough for the USA to leave the Protocol

1/ There was once a right wing Govt that used its majority to push an through anti-democratic law. (Stick with me on this)

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi… 2/ It was met by nationwide mobilisations, & grassroots campaigning by a broad based coalition. People refused to abide by the law, the Govt imprisoned some, but countless people refused to be cowed.

1/ The Parliamentary debate on #PolicingBill is a timely reminder that racist & authoritarian comments in the name of ‘law & order’ is a bottomless pit that MPs love to drink from. This isn’t new, & there are many lessons from the campaigns we ran in 1984 & 1994 that apply today. 2/ In 1994 the Tory Govt proposed a draconian bill that targeted the free party scene, environmental protestors, the traveller community, football fans, trade union rights, & the right to protest. We built a broad based alliance - uniting young ravers & black community activists

1/ Plenty of mentions of the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes in relation to Met Commissioner Cressida Dick & police violence at #SarahEverard protest. So a quick reminder that the family of Jean (young Brazilian migrants) fought a 10 year battle to get Justice for Jean 2/ Police fired 11 shots at Jean after restraining him at Stockwell tube. 7 shots to the head & 1 to the shoulder. The police then lied - trying to cover up the murder - blaming Jean for what he was wearing, how he was walking, what he looked like. They even tried to smear him.

1/ Today as Govts gather at the #ClimateAction let’s anchor the story of the world in maps - whose responsible & who pays the price. The top 1% are responsible for double the emissions of poorest 3.5 billion people. 2. The climate crisis hits the poorest & most vulnerable. The very same people who already face a crisis of poverty & inequality

When I hear net zero 2050 I always remember Ambassador Lumumba (the Chair of the G77) at the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009 when he said 2c “certain death for Africa”, & a type of “climate fascism”. The UK, EU, Obama’s US supported by big northern NGOs opposed 1/1.5c target. 1/ He sat silently, tears rolling down his face, put his head in his hands & said “We have been asked to sign a suicide pact.” & that Africa is being asked to “celebrate” this deal for $10 billion. “$10 billion is not enough to buy us coffins”. This is a colonisation of the sky 2/

In the 80s the ‘loony left’ was attacked b/c it championed anti-racism, gay rights, opposition to apartheid. Today everyone pretends to have always been in support of our struggles. But we remember who stood with us in those fights @jeremycorbyn @johnmcdonnellMP @HackneyAbbott IMHO Labour as well as all parties need to do more to tackle racism of their members. But those of us who were in the anti-racist struggles never created a hierarchy of racisms. We fought against all equally. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politi…