I am tired of men like "Abdullah from Bristol" – the sexist so-called imam who appeared on the BBC televised leadership debate on Tuesday evening to raise the topic of Islamophobia, and asked the candidates whether they recognised that “words have consequences”. It was a thinly-veiled swipe at Boris Johnson, who has been widely condemned for a column in this newspaper in which he likened the appearance of women who wear the burqa to letterboxes.
Yet it has since transpired that Abdullah Patel's now-deleted Twitter account includes such unenlightened comments as: “Generally, men are the predators, but women need to realise this and be smarter. It takes 2 to tango and if you put yourself in that position, don’t expect every man to pass up the opportunity to take advantage of you”.
.... As a British Muslim, I cannot help but feel that rising hate crime is partly down to the fact that many Muslims – and particularly women – have been left isolated and unable to communicate in pockets of the country, as a direct result of the attitudes and influence of people like 'Abdullah from Bristol'.
The men who seek to uphold the burqa as something Islamic are not doing it for my faith but for power: power over women and girls, and power with which they can divide and rule their communities. We need to keep questioning and challenging men like Abdullah and we must be wary of those who use " Islamophobia" as a means to shut down much-needed conversations. [The Telegraph] Read more
