British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was labeled an “infidel” by Gaza campaigners during the 2024 general elections, she told the Political Thinking podcast.
She asserted that over her political career, she has “been branded many things, an infidel amongst them on a number of occasions.”
Mahmood shared that she and her family faced “the most extraordinary level of abuse” during the election.
Despite the abuse she described, Mahmood denied that the entirety of the residents of Birmingham Ladywood are “extremist or intolerant.” 50% of the voters in her constituency are Muslim and support for Gaza has been a key platform used by many politicians to gain the Muslim vote.
“I think there are particular issues in politics and Gaza, I think, has played out in its own difficult way, particularly for the Labour Party,” she told the podcast.
Mahmood’s majority was reduced from 28,582 at the 2019 general election to 3,421 last year as many of Labour MPs lost their seats to pro-Palestinian independents.
Shabana Mahmood's history of pro-Palestinian activism
Despite being labeled an “infidel,” the Muslim former justice minister has been vocal in her support for Palestinians.
She has been seen with “Free Palestine” placards, including at a Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally, and she abstained on the vote to proscribe Palestine Action earlier in the summer.
She also protested the sale of Israeli goods at popular supermarket chain Sainsbury's in 2014 and voted against making the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement illegal in 2024.
Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.