Off A Cliff

I don't wish to give the impression that this blog is overly concerned with ripping the piss out of the Respect Unity Coalition, and its leading lights George Galloway and the SWP. If it was, it would be a short lived blog, 'cos there will be a bit fall out from within the Respect camp come June 11th when their election results come puffing and wheezing in. However, I thought I would reproduce below a post written By Paul Flewers, which originally appears on the UK Left Network which I think hits the nail on the head on why today's opportunism becomes tomorrow's recriminations. I've had to reproduce Paul Flewer's post rather than just posting a link to it because the UK Left Network archiver is closed to non-members. A quick disclaimer - Paul is not, never has been and will never be a member of the SPGB. The disclaimer is for Paul's benefit, not ours. From: "paul_f_rh" Date: Tue Jun 1, 2004 1:57 pm Subject: Re: [UK Left Network] lindsay on tour "I find that Respect's touting after the Muslim vote very worrying. Chasing after a religious group's vote, as an undifferentiated mass, is quite alien to socialist thinking. It contradicts the essence of class politics, that a person's class position and attitude is the key factor. It must also mean orienting to the more conservative and backward elements, as the more modern-thinking people holding religious beliefs usually do not see those beliefs as the determining factor in their identity and in their lives. If we look at the left and Muslims, who are we most likely to attract to our ranks? The Muslims who are starting to question the tenets of the mosque and mullahs, who are not particularly observant of Islamic norms (and who may like the occasional pint or pork banger), and are largely secular in their day-to-day life -- or the devout types utterly convinced of the rightness of the Quran and their imam, and who are extremely observant of Islamic norms, and who like the idea of Islamic states? So what does Respect do? In South London, it leaves two places vacant on its committee to be filled by South London Mosque, thereby allowing religious affiliation to be the determining factor, and opening up the committee to infiltration from reactionary religious elements. In East London, the local Respect branch tags onto a Muslim march -- a church parade to be precise, marking the birth of Mohammed. Whether the Respect folk chanted 'Allah Akhbar' as some leftists did in Teheran in 1979, I do not know. A Respect flyer aimed at Muslims emphasises that Galloway is a tee- totaller. Sheer opportunism, every bit of it. The whole orientation towards Muslims is based on a momentary convergence between them and the left over the war in Iraq. It will evaporate as soon as the crisis in Iraq settles down. It is acceptable to work with religious organisations in single-issue campaigns and organising for demonstrations. An intervention in an election, where one has an extensive political programme and a clear political vision, is quite different. Lash-ups with religious organisations in this sort of situation lead directly to confusion, opportunism and the downplaying of important political tenets. Say what you like about Tony Cliff, but he knew enough about organised religion not to get into this sort of pickle. Paul F"