The ruling Scottish National Party in Scotland elected Hamza Yusuf as its new leader, to write history as the first Muslim leader of a Western country.
What does the victory of Hamza Yusuf mean?
- With this victory, Hamza Yusuf, when announcing his inauguration as prime minister, entered political history in the West, as the first Muslim to hold the position of prime minister in a western country.
Who is Hamza Yusuf?
- Hamza Yusuf was born in Glasgow in 1985 and his father is Muzaffar Yusuf from Punjab, Pakistan.
- Hamza’s father immigrated with the family to Scotland in 1960.
- The mother of the prospective prime minister is Shaitsa Buta, who was born in Kenya, and her family is from South Asia.
- Hamza graduated from the University of Glasgow with a master’s degree in political science in 2007.
independence from the kingdom
- The party supports Scotland’s campaign for independence from Britain, and has a majority of 64 out of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament.
- Yusuf had said before the vote closed that he wanted to dramatically increase taxes on the rich, taxing energy companies and landowners to fund more generous anti-poverty measures.
- Hamza Yusuf said he would use parliament’s powers to levy income and property taxes to increase the £25-a-week child allowance for the poorest families, as he tried to court votes from undecided SNP members.