Scotland MSP open letter, where are we now?

In June 2020 MEND, along with 30 other Muslim and equalities organisations, published an open letter to all political parties in Scotland.

This letter asked political parties to;

• Publicly acknowledge the manifestations of Islamophobia that result in the under-representation of Muslims within the political sphere,
• Declares their commitment to tackling Islamophobia in all its forms,
• Clearly outline their proposed strategy to take appropriate action in improving Muslim representation during the upcoming election, including through placing more Muslim candidates in winnable seats.

The letter was quickly picked up by local and national news outlets along with political parties themselves. Several political parties have given positive feedback in initial contact and we are now looking forward to more meaningful conversations with meetings being set up with political parties across Scotland to discuss how we can move forward in a positive and fruitful manner.