Since 7 October 2023, the day of Hamas’ attack on Israel, the UK has seen a 335% rise in anti-Muslim hate cases: 535 cases of abusive behaviour, 83 assaults, and 39 acts of hate speech.
Now we could say that these incidents are isolated, instigated by vile human beings who hold no bearing on our country as a whole or those that run it, but this belief is devastatingly naïve.
The UK is a place where the London Mayor, a Pakistani Muslim, can be accused of being controlled by ‘Islamists’, said to be giving the capital city ‘away to his mates’. So, it does not shock me that members of our population see fit to treat Muslims with the contempt that they see reflected by our supposed representatives and leaders.
Ex-Tory party member Lee Anderson’s remarks came in response to Suella Braverman’s assertions that pro-Palestine protestors are so-called ‘Islamists’, and have taken over the country entirely. The Tories have been persistent in demonising pro-Palestine protestors for marching across London, with Braverman decrying them as ‘mobs’ and the whole procession to be nothing more than a ‘hate march’. Anderson’s commentary thus forms part of their running agenda to legitimise their support of Israel, as well as suppress public demonstrations questioning this. In feeding the narrative that there is some widespread collusion of so-called Islamists with those in power, Anderson and his party are deliberately demonising Muslims, feeding the fear and distrust that is necessary for the public to support their Zionist narrative and even desensitised to events in Gaza.
These comments go beyond demonisation of the Palestinian cause, however, and have tangible effects domestically. Anderson’s comments are just a vein in the beating heart of islamophobia that is endemic within the Conservative party. With ex-PM Boris Johnson having called Burqa-wearing women ‘letterboxes’ and 58% of polled Tory MPs believing Islam to be a threat to the ‘British way of life’, this scandal further confirms the unprotectedness of Muslims in the UK.
The PM’s refusal to identify Anderson’s comments as Islamophobic, only merely ‘wrong’, demonstrates just much how anti-Muslim attitudes are normalised and brushed over in his party. How is our Muslim community meant to feel seen, respected and protected when the leader of this country cannot call a spade, a spade?
Whilst suspension of the whip is a good (and necessary) step, Anderson still has his seat in the Commons and the option to stand as an independent candidate. There will be no by-election, nor has he been required to apologise or rescind his statement. Instead, Anderson has told GB News that he was, at most, ‘clumsy’ and had received emails of support from people ‘all around the country’.
This defensive declaration illustrates just how influential senior politicians are. Stating on a public platform that Islamists have ‘control’ of Khan, Starmer and London, endorses ‘conspiracy theories and Islamophobic tropes of alleged Muslim takeovers of our country’, stirring up the hatred and suspicion which culminates in skyrocketing hate crime rates.
So, if you’re a particularly astute reader, you may gauge that I do not believe Sunak went far enough. Especially, in the backdrop of the Israel-Palestine war, tensions are at an all-time high- it is the very bare minimum that the UK’s Muslim community is not plagued by accusations of collusion with power, or of peddling Islamic fundamentalism. Sunak’s desire to suppress protest and push his own pro-Israeli narrative is threatening the cohesion in society that his party is purportedly trying to maintain by silencing these ‘mobs’. The PM must publicly acknowledge that Anderson’s words were beyond ‘clumsy’, but dangerous and fundamentally Islamophobic.
“Proud Iranian and Muslim – two marchers in the London anti-Trump ban demo.” by alisdare1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Did Rishi Sunak go far enough in calling out Lee Anderson’s islamophobia?
Since 7 October 2023, the day of Hamas’ attack on Israel, the UK has seen a 335% rise in anti-Muslim hate cases: 535 cases of abusive behaviour, 83 assaults, and 39 acts of hate speech.
Now we could say that these incidents are isolated, instigated by vile human beings who hold no bearing on our country as a whole or those that run it, but this belief is devastatingly naïve.
The UK is a place where the London Mayor, a Pakistani Muslim, can be accused of being controlled by ‘Islamists’, said to be giving the capital city ‘away to his mates’. So, it does not shock me that members of our population see fit to treat Muslims with the contempt that they see reflected by our supposed representatives and leaders.
Ex-Tory party member Lee Anderson’s remarks came in response to Suella Braverman’s assertions that pro-Palestine protestors are so-called ‘Islamists’, and have taken over the country entirely. The Tories have been persistent in demonising pro-Palestine protestors for marching across London, with Braverman decrying them as ‘mobs’ and the whole procession to be nothing more than a ‘hate march’. Anderson’s commentary thus forms part of their running agenda to legitimise their support of Israel, as well as suppress public demonstrations questioning this. In feeding the narrative that there is some widespread collusion of so-called Islamists with those in power, Anderson and his party are deliberately demonising Muslims, feeding the fear and distrust that is necessary for the public to support their Zionist narrative and even desensitised to events in Gaza.
These comments go beyond demonisation of the Palestinian cause, however, and have tangible effects domestically. Anderson’s comments are just a vein in the beating heart of islamophobia that is endemic within the Conservative party. With ex-PM Boris Johnson having called Burqa-wearing women ‘letterboxes’ and 58% of polled Tory MPs believing Islam to be a threat to the ‘British way of life’, this scandal further confirms the unprotectedness of Muslims in the UK.
The PM’s refusal to identify Anderson’s comments as Islamophobic, only merely ‘wrong’, demonstrates just much how anti-Muslim attitudes are normalised and brushed over in his party. How is our Muslim community meant to feel seen, respected and protected when the leader of this country cannot call a spade, a spade?
Whilst suspension of the whip is a good (and necessary) step, Anderson still has his seat in the Commons and the option to stand as an independent candidate. There will be no by-election, nor has he been required to apologise or rescind his statement. Instead, Anderson has told GB News that he was, at most, ‘clumsy’ and had received emails of support from people ‘all around the country’.
This defensive declaration illustrates just how influential senior politicians are. Stating on a public platform that Islamists have ‘control’ of Khan, Starmer and London, endorses ‘conspiracy theories and Islamophobic tropes of alleged Muslim takeovers of our country’, stirring up the hatred and suspicion which culminates in skyrocketing hate crime rates.
So, if you’re a particularly astute reader, you may gauge that I do not believe Sunak went far enough. Especially, in the backdrop of the Israel-Palestine war, tensions are at an all-time high- it is the very bare minimum that the UK’s Muslim community is not plagued by accusations of collusion with power, or of peddling Islamic fundamentalism. Sunak’s desire to suppress protest and push his own pro-Israeli narrative is threatening the cohesion in society that his party is purportedly trying to maintain by silencing these ‘mobs’. The PM must publicly acknowledge that Anderson’s words were beyond ‘clumsy’, but dangerous and fundamentally Islamophobic.
“Proud Iranian and Muslim – two marchers in the London anti-Trump ban demo.” by alisdare1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Share this:
Like this:
Related