It’s nearly time for the Muslim Council of Britain’s annual general meeting, where its new leadership will be elected. Alas, almost no-one wants to stand for, or even vote for, the positions.

The MCB secretary-general, Wajid Akhter, bemoans that nobody will stand to take over from him: ‘If I am candid, my preference would be for fresh and youth [sic] leadership now… Unfortunately, the curse of incumbency and other factors have meant that there are likely no other candidates standing even though many better than myself are there.’ With nominations now closed, this is indeed the case. 

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The MCB has also had to ‘extend the deadline for delegate registration’ at the AGM ‘in the hopes of registering more delegates’. And to further drum up attendance, or share the cost of the room booking, the MCB has combined the AGM with a ‘Muslim mental health conference’ held earlier the same day in the same place. I can, of course, quite understand why the state of the MCB should make its members – if not the rest of us – depressed.

There are two candidates for Akhter’s deputy. But........

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