Halal food at the wedding? Hard-right Restore leader's son marries daughter of Libyan academic

“Halal food at the wedding? Hard-right Restore leader's son marries daughter of Libyan academic Submitted by Imran Mulla on Tue, 05/26/2026 - 11:21 Rupert Lowe's party could play decisive role in crucial Makerfield vote, but many online supporters aren't happy about his son's wedding Rupert Lowe photographed in London on 5 July 2024, a day after the general election in which he was elected as MP for Great Yarmouth (AFP) Off Restore Britain, a party led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe which vows to reverse the "Islamisation of Britain", is receiving more public attention than ever. Enthusiastically endorsed by South African-born billionaire and X owner Elon Musk, Restore has become a significant player in next month's Makerfield by-election, in which Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is standing to be elected as a Labour MP. If he wins, he is expected to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the premiership. A Survation poll late last week put Labour on 43 percent, Reform on 40 percent and Restore in third place on 7 percent. Much of Restore's momentum has come from the internet, particularly X, on which Lowe and other accounts associated with the party have hundreds of thousands of followers. Restore has promised to reverse the "Islamisation of Britain", ban halal and kosher slaughter, and achieve "net-negative" migration levels through a strategy of mass deportation. But Lowe is now being widely attacked by many of his own fans online, as well as others on the ethnonationalist right, over his son's marriage last weekend. On Sunday, Lowe posted a photo on X of his son, Angus Lowe, with his new wife Yasmin Mezran at their wedding ceremony. Outrage soon erupted online because of her heritage: she is the daughter of Karim Mezran, a respected Libyan-Italian academic who has previously written for Middle East Eye. Numerous online accounts said they felt betrayed, especially after it was reported that halal meat was served at the wedding. Karim Mezran himself reposted a post saying that a halal option "was available for guests at the reception afterwards as many in attendance were Muslim. This is despite 'Official Restosxre Policy' to ban Halal Slaughter". Association of Italian Muslim Intellectuals Karim Mezran is an academic who has often written about immigration and integration. In the 2000s, the academic served as secretary-general of the Association of Italian Muslim Intellectuals, which made headlines in 2008 for holding prayers for Christians facing religious violence in India. In 2013, Mezran wrote a paper arguing that Muslims in Italy needed an "intesa", meaning agreement, with the Italian state. He argued that Muslims "are in search of an agreement with the state that would allow them to live and prosper within a legal framework that guarantees rights and duties". "Unfortunately," Mezran wrote, "attempts at achieving such an agreement have come up against a wall of prejudice and fear from the Italian population, as well as a lack of courage and foresight on the part of Italian state institutions." His paper argued in favour of a form of integration which could "lead to the type of pluralism and tolerance enshrined in the Italian constitution". In October 2022, Mezran wrote that Italy risked damaging its relations with Middle Eastern countries if it "proceeds with a political strategy that effectively marginalizes Arabs and Muslims domestically". He argued that: "Meloni’s government should carefully consider how it handles its nationalistic discourse to avoid any Islamophobic controversies that could ultimately spark a blowback of condemnations from its allies in the Arab world." Mezran is currently the director of the North Africa Initiative and a resident senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, an American think tank. Italy is building ties with Algeria, and could bring it closer to the West Read More » In April 2025, after Pope Francis died, Mezran praised him for his "vocal standing behind the Palestinian plight -including multiple sermons on Gaza and near-daily calls with Gaza’s Christian leaders through the war". "The brutal massacre of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli Defense Forces, which came almost at the conclusion of his Pontificate, had quite publicly saddened and pained him in a deep way," Mezran wrote. He has also written extensively as an analyst on political Islam in the Middle East, arguing in 2012 that the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya - which participated in elections after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi - "did not fit the stereotypes of the typical bearded or veiled Islamists". He advocated for Libyan liberal and religious conservative politicians working together. In February 2023, Mezran co-wrote an opinion article for Middle East Eye arguing that, for Italy, "Algeria is a pillar of regional stability and a crucial actor in the Mediterranean region, Italy’s primary area of geo-strategic concern." He wrote that, "Italy’s increasing focus on Algeria could also help the stability of the Algiers-EU relationship." 'Islamisation of Britain' Mezran operates in a different intellectual universe from Restore and his daughter's new father-in-law, Lowe. The MP for Great Yarmouth, a millionaire businessman and farmer who used to be chairman of Southampton FC, was suspended from Nigel Farage's Reform in March last year after calling it a "protest party led by the Messiah" and criticising Farage. Restore is explicitly nativist. The party's spokesperson Charlie Downes said in February: "Reform UK believe that anyone from anywhere can become British. Restore Britain believe that Britain is a people defined by indigenous British ancestry and Christian faith." Restore's website pledges: "A Restore Britain government would reverse the Islamisation of Britain." Oxford Union's Palestinian president on why she invited Tommy Robinson to debate Islam Read More » The party has said the armed forces should recruit from the "native majority" rather than "fishing for minorities". Last week, Lowe said that "foreign men from cultures and religions which treat women like shit are now roaming our streets - whether they arrived legally or illegally". He added: "Afghans, Somalians, Albanians, Sudanese, Pakistanis, Eritreans. The importation list goes on and on ... They drink, they loiter, they spit, they intimidate, they harass." Lowe is known for railing against halal and kosher slaughter. Last year, the MP was widely criticised after revealing he asked his gamekeeper to shoot his 17-year-old dog in the back of the head at his estate in Gloucestershire. He said the dog, Cromwell, could no longer use his back legs and described his decision as "humane". Splitting the British right X owner Musk has repeatedly declared his support for Restore, which says it has more than 123,000 members, posting "Only Restore Britain can save Britain" on Monday. Farage denounced Musk as trying "to split the right of British politics as best he can. This is supporting a party that’s one man with a social media account. Quite what he’s trying to achieve, I have no idea." Polls indicate that the right-wing vote is higher in Makerfield, which is a largely white and working-class constituency, than the vote for Burnham. But it is split between Reform, just a few points behind Labour, and Restore. This means Restore is helping Burnham stay in the lead. Restore's candidate is local businesswoman Rebecca Shepherd. Nick Lowles, the CEO of advocacy group Hope Not Hate, said on Tuesday: "Restore Britain are out three times a day, and in numbers, and their campaign is being heavily promoted by far right vloggers and Elon Musk." He added: "Reform's problem is now that the more they turn their focus on Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain, the more they are making it an attractive proposition for racists across the country." Meanwhile Dan Hodges, a columnist for the Mail on Sunday, said on Tuesday that he had been told "by multiple sources from different parties that canvass returns for Makerfield show Restore significantly outperforming" the 7 percent it was given in the poll over the weekend. MEE has contacted Karim Mezran for comment. UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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