Interview with Sahar Al-Faifi

 

Former Geneticist and refugee Sahar Al-Faifi hopes to be the first Niqabi (face covering) Muslim woman selected as a Plaid Cymru Candidate for the Senedd for the 2021 elections.

She describes her experience of working in a cancer diagnostic lab as a Geneticist and why she left it all to become a social justice campaigner.

“I have never been interested in Party Politics” she said.

“What motivated me to join Plaid Cymru is the anger and frustration I had for the Muslims and BME voices being missed in political discussions and discourse.”

She further states how she wanted to directly change the political system for BME and Muslim community by running for the Senedd 2021 elections.

“Traditionally Muslims and BME are labour supporters, especially if you go to the more highly populated Muslim areas like Butetown and Grangetown. She said.

“A lot of Muslims vote Labour. They have never interacted with Plaid Cymru, I was the same.”

However, things soon changed for Sahar when she was invited by the Plaid Youth (Plaid Ifanc) in 2016 to speak alongside Leanne Wood about Feminism in Europe.

The experience made her realise how accessible Plaid Cymru was to the Muslim and BME community and how their policies aligned with her own beliefs.

“Plaid Cymru was the first party to adopt the definition of Islamophobia. They really do take hate crimes and Racism seriously. That’s what enticed me to join the party.” She said.

 

Asked if wearing a niqab (face covering) would hinder her chances of selection she laughs.

“It’s a funny question because everyone is wearing a mask now because of COVID. Everyone is covering their faces. It doesn’t hinder anything in their daily lives” She said.

“It is the same for me, wearing the Niqab is a manifestation and expression of my faith. The result is the same. Instead of being a barrier it is not a barrier to anything.”

She feels that being selected as a Niqab wearing candidate she can make the party accessible to others like herself who have faced racism and discrimination over the way they dress.

“One of the biggest challenges as a woman of colour and of faith is not only the overt abuse in the street by the institutional racism, institutional Islamophobia out there that aims to silence any dissident by putting forward allegations and accusing us of certain things just to exclude us from public life.”

She feels that she has been targeted and scrutinised by the Far- Right and who have been trying to disqualify her from the political arena because of who she is.

This became evident when a series of deleted tweets were leaked over five years ago that were branded as “Anti- Semitic” due to their criticism of Israeli policy.

 This incident led to her being briefly suspended from Plaid Cymru last November (2019).

However, the Party reinstated her in January this year saying there was no need for further sanctions.

“I have always repeatedly said privately and publicly that criticism of the Israeli regime is not anti-Semitic” She said.

“Anti-Semitism is an appalling form of racism which should be rejected by everyone whether you are a member of the party or not. It mustn’t be accepted. At the same time criticism of the Israeli government and Israeli regime is not Anti-Semitism.”

She makes it clear that she is a Pro-Palestinian activist.

“None can say I am Islamophobic for criticising the Saudi Regime” She said.

“The same for the Israeli regime. None should be called Anti-Semitic for criticising them.”

She says that she feels vulnerable as a Muslim woman and feels that the Anti-Semitic label is used to specifically to discredit her by others.

“The reason is that I am not White. I don’t have White Privilege.” She said.

She mentions how she has previously worked alongside the Jewish community at inter-faith events campaigning around common religious issues such as male circumcision and Muslim and Jewish burials.

“I see the Jewish community as allies and as neighbours” She said.

She cites Ilhan Omar a US Representative for the Democrat Party as her inspiration in joining politics.

She was also an individual who was often labelled Anti-Semitic for her critique of Israeli Regime.

“Ilhan Omar, a US Congresswoman was also accused of Anti-Semitism multiple times, prior, during and when winning the elections. But she was still selected" She said.

“Ilhan came as a refugee (to US from Somalia), I came as a refugee to Wales 16 years ago."

She further added: “I think it is a common theme that a person who is a Muslim will have the Anti-Semitism label come towards them no matter what.”

She thinks the Anti-Semitic label is a “form of institutional Racism” which is designed to exclude Muslims who criticise Israeli Regime from the political sphere.

“If any group wants to brand me as Anti-Semitic for criticising the Israeli regime, they will not silence me.” She says defiantly.

She says she will carry on campaigning and carry on fighting to be a successful candidate in the upcoming elections.