Wajid Akhter, a general secretary-hopeful for the MCB, warned that if children are taught to identify as their nationality or ethnicity, they could become shallow, but identifying with their faith "provided a solid foundation to approach life," per The Telegraph. Akhter is the former assistant secretary general and current National Council member of the MCB. He is also currently a doctor from Essex who had a senior role in The Muslim Vote, which aimed to put pro-Palestinian UK politicians in power last election.
According to a think tank analysis of Akhter's speeches and writings, he called being a Muslim an "act of revolutionary defiance … at odds with the prevailing culture" and condemned New Year celebrations as "pagan," "mixed-gender," and "the first step on a slippery slope."
The UK's longest-serving Muslim MP, Khalid Mahmood, however, said that "The views exposed by Policy Exchange are deeply disturbing. That the MCB keeps getting it wrong is no accident - it is a design fault, rooted in its ideology. The Government rightly refuses to engage with the MCB and this demonstrates why that policy should not change."
Akhter has stated during speeches that Muslims should “organise” and “unite” into a “powerful community” that would “change from the hand that is begging to the hand that is giving,“ adding, "We all want Saladin [a Muslim leader who defeated the Crusaders] to come today."
He said he was part of a movement “trying to unite the Muslim world politically" and stated "If we unite, we can win."
