Salma Yaqoob born in 1971, is the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and one of the founders of RESPECT The Unity Coalition.
She was born in Bradford to Pakistani parents and grew up in Birmingham. She is a psychotherapist. She became an anti-war campaigner after being spat at in the street shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks and attending an anti-war meeting at which she was struck by hearing non-Muslims voice concerns about the upcoming war on Afghanistan. It has been suggested that she played a crucial role in inviting Muslims into an anti-war movement previously dominated by Marxists. She has argued against the idea, put forward by religious extremists and sectarian leftists, that Muslims and non-Muslims cannot work together as well as with those within the Muslim community that have argued that Muslims should keep their heads down.
She is standing as a RESPECT candidate in the 2005 general election for the Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath consistency. Along with fellow RESPECT candidate George Galloway, she has the backing of the Muslim Association of Britain. If successful, she would be the first hijab-wearing Member of Parliament.
References
Articles
