‘British Muslims fear Musk influence and emboldened Islamophobia under Trump’

Young British Muslims are worried about the influence of Elon Musk and whether the Donald Trump presidency in the US might see Islamophobia “emboldened”, the outgoing leader of the UK’s largest Muslim umbrella organisation said.

In her final days as secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Zara Mohammed, the first woman and youngest person to hold the role, warned of a “deeply challenging time” for her community.

Mr Musk, the billionaire owner of Tesla and SpaceX, is a close ally of Mr Trump, who will be inaugurated for his second presidential term on Monday.

Mr Musk is expected to have a key role in the political administration in the US, and has been engaging in controversial commentary online regarding UK politics recently, including piling pressure on the Prime Minister to order an inquiry into grooming gangs.

In an interview with the PA news agency before she steps down after her four-year term as MCB leader, Ms Mohammed said the “normalisation of figures on the far-right” is concerning.

Asked how young British Muslims are feeling, she said: “I think it’s a deeply challenging time. Many Muslims in particular are kind of staying away from X and certain social media platforms.

“It’s so hostile. It’s so disgusting I would say, the kind of vitriol we’re seeing. The smearing of, whether it’s Pakistani communities or Muslim communities, you know.

“Using child grooming to, again, politicise and actually make one community look really barbaric – so I think we’re really worried.

“I think we’re worried about the influence of Musk. We’re worried about the kind of normalisation of figures on the far-right, particularly the Tommy Robinsons and even Nigel Farage, which just always veer away from the illegal, you know, just on the borderline.

“But Tommy’s obviously been very vocal about his sentiment and feeling. The anti-immigrant rhetoric, anti-refugee rhetoric, and growing Islamophobia.

“So I think these are going to be the biggest challenges in 2025 and I think with the Trump election, we’ll wait to see how much more that’s emboldened.”

Ms Mohammed said that while the conflict in the Middle East had been “very polarising”, it was the riots last summer after the Southport stabbings which were perhaps the hardest period of her leadership.

She told PA: “I could not believe that mobs of people were physically trying to destroy, arson attack, hurt Muslims, refugees, mosques, marching around.”

She contrasted the work she and others had done to bring communities together, with the scenes of division on the streets.

She said: “On one hand we’re making great progress, we’re more integrated, you know, but at the same time, we’re being treated as a security and immigration issue.

“And I think the politics and the national narrative of belonging is really in a bad juxtaposition.”

Ms Mohammed said the current climate is one in which there is a particular need for “meaningful partnerships” between the Government and organisations like the MCB.

She said the current policy of non-engagement with the MCB is “a disservice to future generations”, having hoped for official engagement to have been reinstated during her tenure.

Ties were first cut under Labour in 2009, over a reported declaration of support by a then-senior figure in the MCB for Hamas.

They were restored the following year after the MCB stated its opposition to violence, but more recently both the Conservative and Labour administrations have refused to engage with the organisation.

Ms Mohammed said that while the MCB has had “our fair share of history”, they do not advocate for any “negative” views, saying they are democratically-run, with elections, a code of conduct, protocols “and a lot of scrutiny”.

She added: “For me, I think particularly again after the riots, and again after the constant increase in Islamophobia and hate crime, this new Government, I hope, will change its approach.

“I think it’s a disservice to future generations. You know, this Government shouldn’t let down the future of young British Muslims.

“We can’t afford to let them down, actually. And I think that with all that’s going on, what we need is meaningful partnerships.”

Labour minister Alex Norris confirmed to Parliament in August that the Government’s policy not to engage remained unchanged and that there were no plans for ministers to meet the MCB.

A Government spokesman declined to comment on the specific reasons for current non-engagement.

They said: “All forms of religious and racial hatred have absolutely no place in our society.

“The Government engages regularly with faith communities to foster strong working relationships and we are exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling racial and religious hatred, including Islamophobia.

“Further details of this work will be set out in due course.”