“‘You can’t be Muslim and support the Green Party – they are the gay party,’” recalls Hanooshi Hassan, a 23-year-old Green Party candidate in Birmingham’s local elections. The comment, hurled by fellow Muslims and political rivals as he campaigned outside his mosque in north Edgbaston, represents the troubling weaponisation of LGBTQ equality in the city’s political landscape.
Hassan, a black Muslim of Sudanese heritage, describes the hostility as deeply worrying. “These men threatened to beat me up for leafleting for the Green Party,” he states, having shared his experience in a TikTok video to raise awareness. Unfortunately, he is not alone. Several Green candidates and openly gay politicians from various parties report a rise in homophobic slurs and abuse, signalling a troubling normalization of anti-LGBT rhetoric during the campaigns.
Having grown up in Smethwick and now living in a diverse part of Birmingham, Hassan condemns the regressive attitudes displayed by some political actors. “In my ward, there are people of every background – white, black, brown, LGBTQ. Minority rights protect all of us, and exclusionary politics must be rejected,” he says.
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He emphasises that the Green Party manifesto pledges to combat Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and homophobia alike, upholding a vision of coexistence in a culturally rich, modern British city. “We refuse divide-and-conquer tactics that pit minorities against each other,” Hassan adds.
West Midlands Police are currently investigating his reported harassment incident, which those accused deny. Yet, Labour councillor and LGBT+ officer David Barker highlights a broader pattern, noting that the word “gay” has increasingly been used pejoratively as part of a campaign to paint LGBTQ people as a threat to children — echoing dark periods like the era of Section 28.
Barker points out that some candidates, particularly from faith communities, have openly opposed LGBTQ equality in education and public life. He notes with concern that even “progressive Muslim candidates” feel pressured to temper their support for LGBTQ rights. “Homophobic politicians exist in all parties,” Barker warns, “but recent elections have seen a resurgence in vocal anti-LGBT sentiment that threatens inclusion.”
Independent Candidate Alliance leaders Akhmed Yakoob and Shakeel Afsar have vocalised opposition to LGBTQ-inclusive education in schools. Despite denying accusations of homophobia, their campaigns have targeted LGBTQ representation, using social media to denounce Pride events and related Green Party policies. These policies include banning conversion therapy, supporting trans healthcare and self-identification, and tackling hate crimes.
At a recent hustings event hosted by BirminghamLive, only one candidate, Afsar, refused to affirm the statement: “It is okay for children and young people to be taught it is okay to be gay.” Independent candidate Nosheen Khalid initially agreed but later publicly retracted her support, claiming a misunderstanding and emphasizing parental beliefs over teaching equality. Her retraction raised further questions about the pressures candidates face when navigating LGBTQ topics in the political arena.
Such incidents underscore not only the politicisation of LGBTQ rights but also the ongoing struggle for minority communities to coexist without being pitted against one another in electoral battles. As Birmingham approaches its elections, these challenges spotlight the urgent need to uphold dignity, respect, and equality for all citizens.
West Midlands Police stated: “We received a report of harassment taking place on 17 and 24 April, and our enquiries remain ongoing.”