Salma Yaqoob

Overview

Salma Yaqoob born Bradford, England August 15, 1971. Led Birmingam Stop the War Coalition 2003; psychotherapist; leading British Muslim woman; founded anti-war Respect Party 2004.

Quotations

“I was thinking: How is bombing Afghanistan going to achieve peace, or a resolution of what happened on ‘9/11’? It seemed obvious to me that it was going to make things worse, not better. And then that [injunction] ‘Stand up for justice’ —what does that mean, then? What is my responsibility? . . . for me it comes down to just a few basic things. There’s a verse in the Qur’an—surah 4, verse 135—which says: ‘Stand up for justice even if it goes against yourself or your parents or your kin, rich or poor.’ And that applies even at home. When the kids are fighting, it’s like: Just be honest! Stand up for justice even if it goes against yourself.” (High Profiles, July 21, 2016; photo theguardian.com)