United Kingdom: Muslim Shabana Mahmood has been appointed as Home Secretary

United Kingdom, mired in growing political instability, now faces a new chapter of controversy. Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who became embroiled in a tax scandal over irregularities in the purchase of a home. In this context, the current Justice Minister, Shabana Mahmood, will assume the role of Home Secretary, a key position for national security.

Mahmood, 43 years old, has become a controversial figure since she stated bluntly: "Islam, my own religion, like that of many practicing Muslims, my faith is the most important thing in my life. It is the absolute driving force behind everything I do." These statements, in a country historically marked by secularism and Christian tradition, have raised concerns about the ideological direction she may bring to her administration.

Mahmood's rise is not an isolated event. In 2024, she had already made history as the first Muslim woman to hold the position of Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice in the United Kingdom. Back then, she took her oath on the Qur'an in a ceremony held on July 16 at the Royal Courts of Justice, which was presented by the British press as a "triple milestone": the first Lord Chancellor to swear on the Qur'an, the first woman in that position, and the first time a Lady Chief Justice, Dame Sue Carr, swore in a Lord Chancellor.

United Kingdom allows its ministers to choose which sacred text—or even none at all—to take their oath on. While Christians usually do so on the Bible, others opt for the book of their faith, or for a secular affirmation. Keir Starmer himself, a declared atheist, refused to swear on a religious text. However, the symbolism of Mahmood swearing on the Qur'an as the highest representative of British justice did not go unnoticed, and now it reignites the debate with her arrival at the Home Office.

The 2024 ceremony was attended by prominent figures in the legal field, such as Nick Emmerson, president of the Law Society, and Sam Townend KC, president of the Bar Council. There, Mahmood pledged to defend the rule of international law, human rights, and the independence of the judiciary against any political pressure.

Nevertheless, her own words, declaring that her religion guides all her actions, call that supposed neutrality into question. For Labour critics, London is undergoing a reckless political experiment: placing the nation's security in the hands of a minister who subordinates her public duties to personal religious convictions.

With this appointment, Starmer seeks to demonstrate diversity and modernity, but the result is different: a United Kingdom that is increasingly fractured, abandoning its roots and historical values in favor of political correctness that puts its own stability at risk.