بريطانيا: إقصاء مسلم عن حزب المحافظين لرفضه الصلوات النصرانية

- خبر من مصادر إنجليزية.

أكد عضو حزب المحافظين البريطاني "عمران خان" أنه تم إقصاؤه من الحصول على مقعد بانتخابات مدينة "Reigate and Banstead"، بسبب مطالبة له سابقة بتنحية الصلوات النصرانية عن اجتماعات الحزب الرسمية، التي أكدت المحكمة العليا في فبراير الماضي أنها مخالفة للقانون.

وقد أكد أن هذه الجدلية أثرت على اختياره ودعمه، خاصةً مع انتقاده لسياسة الحزب التي أشار إلى أنها غير ديمقراطية وتركز كثير من السلطة في أيدي القيادات. المصدر: شبكة الألوكة.

يرجى الإشارة إلى المصدر عند نقل الخبر – شبكة الألوكة.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Muslim councillor deselected from Horley after prayer row

Imran Khan, who has not been reselected by the Tories to contest any seats at the upcoming Reigate and Banstead Borough Council elections, said he thinks the prayer row has had "a big influence".

He also criticised the executive system under which the council operates as "dangerous" and "undemocratic", placing too much power with a handful of top members.

Councillor Khan, 36, has held one of the three Horley West seats on Reigate and Banstead Borough Council for four years.

But he has not been selected to stand when one third of the council's seats are contested on May 3, and he received little support in Earlswood and Whitebushes when he previously stood in the ward as the Conservative candidate.

He said: "Many of the councillors had mistakenly thought I was objecting to the notion of prayers before council which wasn't true – I was simply recommending a break between the two.

"However, once people get themselves worked up about something and feel upset about something they are not too open to any debate about it.

"I think they were all feeling pretty upset about the position I had taken."

Cllr Khan, who will remain a councillor until the election, said he felt it was wrong that he was forced to stand outside the council chamber while prayers were being said.

His comments followed a High Court ruling that prayers as part of formal meetings were unlawful.

Last year three backbench councillors split from the Conservative group in protest about the decisions being taken by the authority's executive.

Cllr Khan said the Conservative group was generally "a tight ship", but voiced serious concerns about the power balance at the council.

He told the Mirror: "What I would deeply criticise with great veracity is that the executive versus backbench system completely takes political participation and opportunities away from backbenchers.

"It takes away democracy from local councillors, it removes the opportunity for people who want to give their spare time to public service and it concentrates power in a few hands, and that is deeply dangerous.

"I think many [backbench] councillors in an executive system will feel their time is wasted."

Council leader Joan Spiers was unavailable for comment as the Mirror went to press.