LONDON, April 27, 2006  –  The Muslim Council of Britain has rejected talks with gay organisations and rebuffed proposals to tackle homophobia within the Muslim community.

Inayat Bunglawala, media spokesperson for the MCB, has disowned the MCB’s advisor on equality issues, Muhammed Aziz.

Mr Aziz had endorsed dialogue with gay groups and indicated the MCB's commitment to tackle prejudice and discrimination against gay people.

He made this commitment during round table equality talks that included gay lobby group Stonewall.  The talks were sponsored by the Equality and Diversity Forum (EDF) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Mr Aziz is named on the forum’s membership list as an MCB advisor and is described as representing the MCB at the forum.

The DTI talks resulted in outline agreement on a five-year plan for dialogue between Muslim and gay groups and for joint action against homophobia within the Muslim community and against Islamophobia within the gay community.

Everyone thought an amicable agreement had been reached until Mr Bunglawala denounced the talks with the claim: “There are no talks with any gay groups anywhere.”

Mr Bunglawala told the Islam TV Channel that the MCB rejected dialogue with gay representatives.  Opposing any Muslim and gay cooperation on equality issues, he reiterated the MCB’s hardline homophobic condemnation of same-sex relationships as “sinful” and “not acceptable”.

“We do not believe that [same-sex love[ is in any way equal with marriage between man and a woman,” he said.  “We do not accept the idea of gay adoption; we believe it is completely wrong.”

Mr Bunglawala is apparently so anti-gay that he refused to speak to journalists from Pink News. The MCB also refuses to speak to UK Gay News on this matter.

“We are deeply saddened that the Muslim Council of Britain has slammed the door on dialogue with the gay community and has rejected proposals to tackle homophobia,” said gay Muslim Aaron Saeed, who is the Muslim Affairs spokesperson of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights group OutRage!

“OutRage! and Stonewall are willing to work with the MCB to combat homophobia and Islamophobia,” Saeed continued.  “Sadly, the MCB is unwilling to reciprocate our offer of cooperation and solidarity.

“We applaud Aziz’s efforts to promote constructive engagement between the gay and Muslim communities.

“It is a great pity his commendable, generous outreach has been dashed by Mr Bunglawala and the rest of the MCB leadership,” said Mr Saeed.

OutRage! spokesperson Peter Tatchell confirmed that he has written to MCB leader Sir Iqbal Sacranie “many times” in the last few years, urging “mutual understanding, tolerance and respect.”

“All our efforts to promote an exchange of ideas and a common agenda for equality have been ignored by the MCB,” said Mr Tatchell.

“It was a big setback when Sir Iqbal Sacranie earlier this year denounced gay people as harmful, immoral, unacceptable and diseased.

“Official news releases on the MCB’s website attack gay equality and demonise same-sex relationships as ‘offensive’, ‘immoral’ and ‘repugnant’,” Mr. Tatchell pointed out..

“Some of the MCB’s tirades against lesbians and gays echo the homophobic hate language of the BNP (British National Party).

“The MCB opposed all the gay equality reforms of the last decade.  On every issue, it supported legal discrimination.”

Mr. Tatchell said that the MCB had opposed an equal age of consent, same-sex civil partnerships and the outlawing of homophobic discrimination in the workplace.

“It also backed the retention of Section 28 and a ban on gay couples fostering or adopting children,” said Mr. Tatchell.

“One reason the MCB refuses to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day is because it objects to the ceremony including a commemoration of what it dismisses as ‘the so-called gay genocide’.  The MCB regards the murder of gay people in Nazi death camps as unworthy of remembrance.

“This year’s Festival of Muslim Cultures is being funded by the Home Office and the British Council.  Its aim is to showcase the ‘diversity and plurality’ of Muslim communities.

“But the festival,” Mr. Tatchell pointed out, “has banned gay Muslim events from its programme, allegedly at the insistence of the MCB.”