Left-wing Muslim independence movement wins Welsh Parliament elections
Plaid Cymru wins the elections in Wales by incorporating Muslim demands: Palestine, Islamophobia and religious accommodation in schools, neighbourhoods and daily life.
Election poster of the Welsh nationalist Al-Faifi
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The pro-Islamist left of Plaid Cymru has won the elections to the Welsh Parliament. and has broken a historic Labour hegemony. The Welsh independence party came first with 43 seats in a 96-seat parliament, ahead of Reform UK, which secured 34, while Labour fell to 9 seats. It is a seismic result: for the first time since the 1999 devolution, the Labour Party is not in a position to form a government in Wales, and Plaid Cymru is positioned as a central force for government., although without an absolute majority.
The key support of The Muslim Vote for Plaid Cymru
One of the most significant moves of the campaign was The Muslim Vote's support for Plaid Cymru and the Greens. This platform, focused on directing the Muslim vote in the United Kingdom, recommended these options in the Welsh elections. It was no small gesture: it signalled a break between part of the Muslim electorate and Labour, penalised for a stance regarded as too weak on Palestine and Gaza, and for the sense that it took the support of Muslim communities for granted.
At the same time, Plaid appealed directly to Welsh Muslims. promising to protect them in the face of Reform UK's rise and its anti-immigration policy. For the first time, Welsh left-wing independence broadens its support when it attacks Israel, commits to punishing Islamophobia and, in general, proposes to cater for the «religious needs» of Muslims in daily lifehalal food, mosques, prayer rooms in schools or workplaces, the normalisation of women's «modest» clothing, or parallel religious courts.
The Plaid Cymru candidate in a niqab and other figures
Plaid Cymru has courted the Muslim vote, and the most committed Muslim activists have joined the party. Two figures stand out within Plaid Cymru: Sharifah Rahman and Sahar Al-Faifi. These two activists have caused problems for the party because of their declared antisemitism and religious radicalism.
Sharifah Rahman, the party's candidate in Cardiff South and Penarth, caused controversy by to lend credibility to a conspiracy theory according to which the 7 October attack was not the work of Hamas but of the Israeli army., to later justify the invasion of Gaza. The party reacted by withdrawing its support, but his name was already printed on the ballot paper.
Before the Rahman case, the party had already had problems with candidate Sahar Al-Faifi because of her radicalism. Al-Faifi stands wearing a niqab as a candidate on the Central Wales list. She even said in an interview that «my niqab is my jihad.» But what caused problems for the party were messages on social media referring to the “children of Israel” as responsible for corruption in the world. She also spread theories about wealthy Jews promoting wars and openly expressed support for Hamas. The party suspended her, but readmitted her on the condition that she apologise and take a course on antisemitism.
The Muslim vote doesn't vote for independence: it votes for community.
Plaid Cymru's victory also shows a reality that many parties do not want to see: There is an organised Muslim vote that does not necessarily decide on the national axis., but in community terms. For a section of this electorate, the question is not whether Plaid Cymru is nationalist, Labour or Green, but Which party defends Palestine better, combats Islamophobia, curbs Reform UK, protects neighbourhoods and recognises the religious and social needs of the community?. In this case, Plaid Cymru has succeeded in becoming the useful option because it has listened to these demands and incorporated them into its political project.
Plaid Cymru has not turned Welsh Muslims into classic Welsh nationalists.; He has done something more effective electorally: he has integrated them into a progressive coalition where their community priorities carry weight.
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