Birmingham City Council’s Reform group of councillors have complained that the reading of an Islamic prayer in a council meeting was not ‘inclusive’ and called for English only meetings.
The party's group of 23 councillors wrote to newly-appointed Lord Mayor Zaker Choudhry, a Muslim, about the decision to invite an imam to share a Quranic verse in Arabic as part of the installation ceremony.
The 30-second-long reading was translated into English to those present. In the letter, Reform group leader Cllr Jex Parkin and group deputy leader Cllr Charlie Latchford said Birmingham was a ‘diverse area’ and for this reason felt that the Islamic readings were ‘inappropriate’.
‘We appreciate and respect your own religious faith, however, that section of the meeting was not inclusive to the many other groups across this city.’
The letter concluded: ‘We hence ask that all items at future council meetings be spoken in the English language as a sign of unity across all groups in our society.’
Birmingham Labour councillor Majid Mahmood responded: ‘A short prayer was recited in Arabic for around 30 seconds and then translated into English. If that’s being presented as evidence that meetings are not being conducted in English, it says more about the narrative than the reality.’
‘At the meeting, none of the Reform councillors appeared to have an issue at the time, and there was clapping from them,’ he added.
Reform’s Shadow Chancellor & MP for Newark, Robert Jenrick, backed the demand on X, commenting: ‘Only the English language should be used in council meetings in England.’
A council spokesperson said: 'It is standard for every Lord Mayor to ask a local religious leader of their choice to do something at the start of the Mayoral year, if they wish. In this case, a blessing was performed for the Lord Mayor in his particular faith. Any Lord Mayor of any faith would have an equal opportunity to do the same.'
The call for English-only meetings follows the decision by Reform-controlled Kent County Council to introduce the Lord's Prayer and the national anthem into its council meetings.
