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Mothin Ali

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Mothin Ali
Member of Leeds City Council
for Gipton and Harehills
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 3, 2024 (2024-05-03)
Preceded byArif Hussain
Personal details
Political partyGreen Party

Mothin Ali (/ˈmɔːtiːn/ /ɑːˈliː/) is a British Green Party politician and a member of Leeds City Council.

Politics

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Following a period supporting the Labour Party, Ali joined the Green Party, and began campaigning for election as the Green Party candidate for the Gipton and Harehills ward of Leeds City Council in 2022;[1] this was one of the UK's poorest areas, 40% of whose population was Muslim, with over 65% coming from minority ethnic groups.[2] He was elected in 2024.[3][4] This result was interpreted by some commentators as a sign of local voters' dissatisfaction with the Labour Party's stance on the then-ongoing Israel-Hamas war.[5][6][1] In 2024, Ali was also nominated to be deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire in the event that the Green Party won the 2024 West Yorkshire mayoral election, but the Green Party was not elected.[7]

As a member of the Greens For Palestine group, Ali supported a change to Green Party policy to label the Israeli government's conduct in the Israel-Hamas war as "apartheid" and "genocide" and to support the associated Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Ali made a prominent speech promoting this policy at the Green Party's annual conference in September 2024, and the party accepted the proposed policy change.[8][9][10]

Ali is an anti-racism campaigner. He started the DigItOut campaign, which aims to end racism in horticulture and gardening.[11][12][13] This was a response to his own experiences of racism in the gardening world, including abuse he received on his YouTube channel, which worsened after the publication in 2021 of the findings of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.[14] He is a long-standing critic of the UK government's Prevent counter-terrorism strategy, arguing that it embeds Islamophobia.[15][16] In the wake of the 2024 United Kingdom riots, he criticised the racism of their perpetrators while also criticising what he saw as growing media and government encouragement of racist attitudes, and particularly Islamophobia, in the UK.[16] As of 2024, he was campaigning to make Leeds what he called a "city of belonging", modelled on the concept of a City of Sanctuary.[2]

Shortly after his election, Ali sought to overturn a Leeds City Council policy to close a number of Council-run nurseries.[17]

Harehills unrest

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During the 2024 Harehills unrest, Ali formed what some press reports called "a human shield" to stop violence escalating and appealed for calm.[18][19][20] Ali was erroneously accused of taking part in the unrest by some far-right political commentators,[21][22] and as of September 2024 was raising money to take legal action against his alleged libellors.[10] The Muslim Council of Britain commended Ali for his "bravery and service" during the unrest.[22] Following the unrest, Ali organised community meetings, particularly developing his contacts with the local Roma community.[citation needed]

Controversy

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Following his election in May 2024, Ali was criticised by the Leeds Jewish Representative Council after describing his local election victory a "win for the people of Gaza" amidst the Israel–Hamas war.[23][24][25] On 7 October during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Ali had said that people should "support the right of indigenous people to fight back" and said that "they are not victims, they are occupiers, they are colonialists, they are European colonialists". Ali delivered his victory speech in front of a Palestinian flag instead of a British flag.[26] The Green Party stated that it would investigate Ali's comments and the circumstances surrounding his victory speech.[26] Ali was condemned by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and subsequently apologised for "any upset my comments caused" and said that he does not support violence on either side.[27] In later interviews, he noted that he had experienced extensive harassment following media coverage of the incident,[21] including the puncturing of his car tyres,[2] and 5Pillars reported that he had required police protection.[10]

Horticulture

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Ali has a YouTube channel, "My Family Garden", which in 2022 had 35,000 subscribers and 50,000 in 2024, where he documents his gardening.[28][1] In 2022, he was featured on the BBC programmes Marcus Wareing's Tales from a Kitchen Garden[29] and Blossom Trees and Burnt Out Cars;[30] in the same year he began craft production of achar made from home-grown ingredients.[28]

Personal life

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Ali is of Bangladeshi heritage,[12] his family moving to the UK in the 1960s.[1] He moved to Gipton and Harehills in 2000.[1] As of 2022, he was an accountant by day and Islamic teacher in the evenings.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Gent, Craig (28 May 2024). "Are Green Shoots Starting to Crack the Red Wall?". Novara Media. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Rimi, Aisha (2024-08-07). "Mothin Ali: 'Nothing could have prepared me for the hate I've received since my election'". Hyphen. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  3. ^ McCormick, Sebastian (2024-05-04). "Leeds local election results 2024 as it happened". Leeds Live. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  4. ^ James Connolly, "Leeds City Council election results 2024 in full as count confirms who has been elected in every ward Archived 2024-08-28 at the Wayback Machine", Yorkshire Evening Post (May 3, 2024 Friday).
  5. ^ "Dozens of pro-Palestine candidates elected as councillors in Britain", India Today Online (May 6, 2024 Monday).
  6. ^ "Muslim group gives Starmer demands to regain support", The Times (May 7, 2024).
  7. ^ Hub, Huddersfield (2024-03-18). "Huddersfield councillor chosen as Green Party candidate for West Yorkshire mayoral elections". Huddersfield Hub. Archived from the original on 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  8. ^ "UK: Green Party 'makes history' by declaring Israel's war in Gaza a 'genocide'". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  9. ^ Harpin, Lee (2024-09-09). "Greens pass Israel 'genocide' motion at annual conference backed by hardline councillor". Jewish News. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  10. ^ a b c Carter, Rob (2024-09-20). "'Help me fight the far-right': Muslim councillor prepares legal retribution for Islamophobes". 5Pillars. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  11. ^ "#Dig It Out – Championing Equality & Diversity". Archived from the original on 12 April 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b Begum, Thaslima (2022-11-25). "Generation game: how British Bangladeshi gardeners have gone back to their roots". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  13. ^ "BBC Sounds - Blossom Trees and Burnt Out Cars, 1. Locked out of Nature". BBC. 2022-07-13. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  14. ^ Ryan, Emma (2 April 2021). ""Racism is alive and well" - black communities in Leeds slam government report into race disparity". Yorkshire Evening Post. Yorkshire Post Newspapers.
  15. ^ "Leeds Community Leaders Call On Leeds City Council To Stand Up To Islamophobia". Sunrise Radio - Official Site. 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  16. ^ a b Mothin Ali, 'Racism in Britain is at levels I have not seen in my lifetime Archived 2024-09-19 at the Wayback Machine', Irish Independent (August 10, 2024 Saturday).
  17. ^ Don Mort, "Little Owls Leeds: Yorkshire nurseries to close despite outcry from parents Archived 2024-09-18 at the Wayback Machine", Yorkshire Post (July 10, 2024 Wednesday).
  18. ^ Davis, Barney (19 July 2024). "The hero councillor who formed a human shield to stop violence escalating in Leeds riots". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  19. ^ Vinter, Robyn (2024-07-19). "'We're in it together': how unrest in Leeds escalated – and was defused". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  20. ^ "Harehills disorder: 'We saw the worst and best of people'". BBC News. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  21. ^ a b Vinter, Robyn (2024-07-23). "'This is what a councillor is supposed to do': Mothin Ali on false accusations of rioting". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  22. ^ a b Mulla, Imran (19 July 2024). "UK: Far right blames Muslims and 'third world' migrants for Leeds unrest". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  23. ^ Russell, Rachel (7 May 2024). "Leeds: Green Party councillor Mothin Ali apologises for Gaza comments". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  24. ^ Penna, Dominic (2024-05-06). "Green Party investigates councillor who shouted 'Allahu Akbar' after election". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  25. ^ Higgens, Dave (7 May 2024). "Green councillor in Leeds sorry for 'upset caused' in speech amid calls for suspension". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  26. ^ a b Russell, Rachel (7 May 2024). "Leeds: Green Party councillor Mothin Ali apologises for Gaza comments". BBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  27. ^ Pope, Felix (7 May 2024). "Newly elected Green councillor apologises for October 7 anti-Israel tweets". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  28. ^ a b c Healey, Shawna (11 January 2022). "Popular Leeds gardener speaks on raising his kids outdoors and racism in the horticulture community". Asian Standard. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  29. ^ Dominic Penna, "Green Party councillor who shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ after election says critics are Islamophobic", The Telegraph (May 7, 2024).
  30. ^ "BBC Sounds - Blossom Trees and Burnt Out Cars, 1. Locked out of Nature". BBC. 2022-07-13. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
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