Tory inquiry imam in free-speech row

A leading imam appointed by Theresa May to conduct a government inquiry into Islamophobia faced calls to stand down last night after he was accused of questioning free speech.

Qari Asim, the imam at the Makkah mosque in Leeds, was appointed to the government’s Islamophobia panel last July to help create a definition of anti-Muslim hatred.

However, a tape has emerged in which Asim told an interfaith workshop in September 2018 that, while Muslims “cherish free speech”, some want exceptions in instances where something is “distasteful to Muslims or they find it offensive”, particularly where it concerns the prophet Muhammad.

In his presentation, Asim suggested that some Muslims argue “we can have exceptions to the freedom of speech, on the basis of their being some words or some actions being offensive or distasteful”. [The Times (£)] Read more

Councillor will not face police action over 'Islamophobic' Twitter posts

Stourbridge councillor Colin Elcock has been given an indefinite suspension by the Dudley Conservative Group after he was reported over the posts. He will now sit as an independent.

West Midlands Police launched an investigation but said the posts, which said Islam was “domination not integration” and asked whether people in Iran were “all on the dole”, did not "meet the threshold for criminal prosecution".

A force spokesman said: "Police launched an investigation into a complaint regarding social media comments.

"A thorough investigation was carried out, with all of the evidence obtained and reviewed. It was concluded that the comments did not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution." [Express & Star] Read more

Hackney councillors vote unanimously to adopt Islamophobia definition

Hackney councillors last night voted unanimously to adopt a new definition of Islamophobia that commits the Town Hall to speak out against the rise in racism against Muslims.

A speech by Cllr Humaira Garasia (Lab, Haggerston) on her fears of being targeted by Islamophobic racists received a standing ovation.

Cllr Garasia was speaking as part of her motion asking the Town Hall to formally accept the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia.

In a rare show of unity for the Hackney Council chamber, councillors from both Labour and Conservative party groups voted to endorse the definition.

Cllr Garasia said: “Do you know how it feels to think twice about waiting for a train at the platform, particularly when there’s a rush and you’re not so far from the yellow line?

“The thoughts that race through my mind – ‘Humaira, be careful. You’re wearing the hijab. Someone might push you onto the tracks. Keep your legs firm, have a look around.’ [Hackney Citizen] Read more

Muslim Council of Britain welcomes Town Hall motion to adopt Islamophobia definition

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has welcomed a motion put forward by Cllr Humaira Garasia (Lab, Haggerston) calling for the Town Hall to adopt a parliamentary group’s definition of Islamophobia.

The definition was announced by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims in December 2018, and became the centre of debate in May last year after the government rejected it, saying that its wording needed “further careful consideration”.

If voted through, the motion would commit the Town Hall to endorsing and adopting the definition, as well as speaking out against the rise in recent years of racism targeting “Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”.

MCB Secretary General Harun Khan said: “Islamophobia is rife across Britain, often perpetuated by elected politicians and the media, which then has real life implications for Muslims in terms of hate crime and abuse. [Hackney Citizen] Read more

Press watchdog: Newspapers treating Muslims “differently”

“I have a suspicion that [Muslims] are from time to time written about in a way that [newspapers] would simply not write about Jews or Roman Catholics,” says the outgoing chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation

The press watchdog, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has stated the obvious: Muslims get unfair treatment in the UK printed press. The departing chief of the organisation told the Financial Times that the portrayal of Muslims in British newspapers had been the most difficult issue faced since the inception of IPSO in 2014.

IPSO is due to publish guidelines for journalists early in 2020, following criticism from a Home Affairs Select Committee hearing on Islamophobia, where it was concluded that IPSO was not doing enough to tackle the issue, citing inflammatory and inaccurate writing about Muslims. Sir Alan Moses, who is stepping down as chairman of IPSO, acknowledged the problem, commenting:

“I speak for myself, but I have a suspicion that [Muslims] are from time to time written about in a way that [newspapers] would simply not write about Jews or Roman Catholics.”

However, any such guidelines will only be voluntary and are therefore not likely to be followed by those with an Islamophobic agenda. Reacting to the mere talk of proposed guidelines, newspapers such as The Telegraph branded them a threat to free speech, a charge dismissed by IPSO as “groundless”. [Islam21c.com] Read more

Muslims treated differently by newspapers, says press watchdog

The portrayal of Islam and Muslims in the British press has been “the most difficult issue” facing the press watchdog in the past five years, according to its outgoing chief.

“I speak for myself, but I have a suspicion that [Muslims] are from time to time written about in a way that [newspapers] would simply not write about Jews or Roman Catholics,” said Alan Moses, who is standing down after five years as chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

His comments come two months ahead of Ipso’s plans to publish voluntary guidance for journalists when writing about Muslims, who make up roughly 5 per cent of Great Britain’s population, according to 2017 data from the Office for National Statistics. The regulator has previously issued similar advice for journalists reporting on transsexual people and victims of sexual crime.

“A shock-jock Muslim story on the front page sells papers,” the former Conservative party chair Sayeeda Warsi told the committee at the time. “This is nothing new, we have been here before — some of the headlines we see now could have been written about the Jewish community in the 1930s and indeed were.” [The Financial Times] Read more

It’s shameful that Johnson has reneged on the inquiry into Tory Islamophobia

A few years ago, I was reporting a story about Prevent, the government’s counter-extremism programme. I interviewed various Muslims from around the UK who had interacted with the programme in one way or another.

Many wanted to be anonymous. These were ordinary people, not activists, and for many it felt too risky to draw attention to themselves, even if they had not been accused of wrongdoing. “We’re already seen as terrorists,” one young woman told me. “Just look at the way people talk about our community.”

I thought about that young woman as it was announced that Boris Johnson would replace a promised inquiry into allegations of Islamophobia within the Conservatives with a more broad-brush review of how the party handles discrimination complaints. There is compelling evidence that the Conservative party has a specific problem with Islamophobia.

During the election campaign, the party continued to back several candidates who had made Islamophobic statements; a dossier of social media comments found that 25 Tory councillors had posted racist material including descriptions of Muslims as “barbarian” and “the enemy within”. [The Guardian] Read more

Islamophobia vs Anti-Muslim Bigotry – We’re Losing Against Racists And Bigots

.... The fact that Islamophobia has the word, Islam and phobia just invites racists and bigots to shift the debate to their side. Scour any racist or bigots social media and you will see the same arguments from them: “Islam is an ideology, it should be criticised” and then they attribute anti-Muslim tropes as a cover for their “right to free speech.” This is what Muslim communities are dealing with whilst we debate amongst ourselves.

My position on the which term is most appropriate lies in what takes ammunition away from racists and bigots. With this in mind, I prefer the term anti-Muslim bigotry. I prefer it because it firmly places the emphasis on the individual. It provides the human element that is much needed and denies racists and bigots the opportunity to disguise their hatred of Muslims through criticism of Islam.

Using the term anti-Muslim bigotry exposes racists and bigots in a way racism does also, for example, “I’m not racist, I have a black friend” and so, in the same way, “I’m not anti-Muslim, I just hate Islam”. To be clear, I am not arguing that Muslims are a race, they are not, and they are not like Jews who are. What I am arguing is, if we focus on Muslims and not Islam.... [Faith Matters] Read more

Tory Islamophobia inquiry chair in row over Kashmir views

The newly appointed chair of the Conservative party’s inquiry into its handling of complaints about discrimination, including Islamophobia, has been plunged into a row over comments he made about the disputed Kashmir region.

The Tory peer Sayeeda Warsi questioned the views of Prof Swaran Singh, who was announced on Tuesday as the chair of the review, after he wrote a piece for an online publication whose editor has dismissed Islamophobia as a term designed to shut down criticism of Islam.

Warsi highlighted sections of the article in which Singh, who is a former equality and human rights commissioner, argued that the Kashmir conflict had been portrayed as a tragedy only for Muslims and that, for many, Sikhs and Hindus “do not meet the criteria of victimhood”. [The Guardian] Read more

No, Melanie Phillips, the Muslim Brotherhood did not invent Islamophobia

.... The term can certainly be misused in that way but the essence of Islamophobia is fear, hostility and rejection directed against Muslims as people. Intentionally or not, denying the reality of Islamophobia helps to legitimise prejudice and discrimination.

Phillips, however, adopts a meme that is especially popular among the American far right and claims the concept of Islamophobia "was invented by the Muslim Brotherhood to mimic antisemitism".

.... In fact, the word “Islamophobia” been around for more than a century. Its first recorded use was in French – as islamophobie – in 1910. It appeared in a book, La politique musulmane dans l’Afrique Occidentale Française by Alain Quellien, describing the attitude of French colonial administrators towards the culture of the countries they were governing.

According to Robin Richardson, in a brief history of the word, it appears to have been first used in English in 1985 by Edward Said who linked it to antisemitism, saying that “hostility to Islam in the modern Christian west has historically gone hand in hand” with antisemitism and “has stemmed from the same source and been nourished at the same stream”. [al-bab.com] Read more

Conspiracism threatens both Jews and Muslims

.... Yes, antisemitism is rife within the Arab world and within Muslim communities. No sensible person doubts that. Yes, the term “Islamophobia” is used by Islamists in order to dodge criticism of their theocratic and totalitarian politics, and by others in order to advance the case for a quasi-blasphemy law. For this reason, some argue for a better term than “Islamophobia”: me included.

But such marginal arguments over terminology must not distract from the concern over a genuine, and deeply worrying phenomenon. If we pretend that, because the term Islamophobia is sometimes misused by rotters, it doesn’t exist at all - as Melanie Phillips appears to have done - we are indistinguishable from the likes of the Labour Against the Witch-hunt mob, who devote themselves to denying clear cases of antisemitism, and defending obvious antisemites. [The Jewish Chronicle] Read more

A New Poll Found 37% Of Conservative Voters Admit They Have A Negative View Of Muslims

More than 60% of Conservative voters said they agreed with the statement that Islam threatened the British way of life.

More than a third of Conservative voters admit they have a negative view of Muslims, according to a new poll that lays bare the scale of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Britain ahead of Thursday’s general election.

The poll — carried out by ICM last week for the campaign group Avaaz — surveyed 2,011 voters about their views on Muslims and Jews in the UK.

It compared the answers of people who said they voted Conservative and Labour at the 2017 election with the public as a whole, finding that 37% of Tory voters are view Muslims in a negative light, compared to 26% of the electorate as a whole and 16% of Labour supporters.

Conservative voters were also much more likely to say they agreed with the statement that Islam threatens the British way of life — 62% compared to 45% of the general public and 35% of Labour voters.

And 55% of Tory supporters agreed that there should be a reduction in the number of Muslims entering Britain, while 41% of the wider public and 33% of Labour voters backed that statement. [BuzzFeed] Read more

Should the Welsh Assembly adopt a definition of Islamophobia?

Following the UK government’s rejection of the APPG on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia, could Wales adopt it? Mairi Hughes reports on a wide range of perspectives within the public sphere on the complexities of fighting prejudice via a formal definition.

.... When Leanne Wood stood up in the Welsh Assembly and asked for comment on the impact Westminster’s rejection of the APPG’s Islamophobia definition would have on community cohesion, the Assembly responded that they were in talks with the Scottish government, ‘with a view to adopting the definition’.

Hardeep Singh of the Network of Sikh Organisations, whose signature appears on the open letter to Sajid Javid, said: ‘Generally with these sorts of subjects, it seems to be quite binary. But, if you look at the granularity of the detail, you realise it’s actually far more complicated than a group wanting to have a definition, there’s so many other things involved in this.’

The debate around how policy-makers should be ensuring the defeat of anti-Muslim sentiment, and the appropriateness of formal definitions in challenging hatred and prejudice remains on the political agenda, and has unravelled in all its complexity. As the Welsh Assembly considers its next move, it seems this decision will set a significant precedent for how hate crime should be tackled. [Planet] Read more

Conservative Derbyshire councillor suspended for 'racist' and 'hateful' burka comments

A Conservative Derbyshire councillor has been suspended after making "racist" and "hateful" comments about women who wear burkas.

Cllr Henry Thompson, who represents the Heanor East ward on Amber Valley Borough Council, made the comments on Facebook over the past couple of days.

The quotes came below a news article from The Telegraph which the Tory councillor had shared on Facebook - bearing the headline "British public back a ban on burka by two to one, poll finds".

Cllr Thompson, who was elected in 2018, says he made the comments in a personal capacity.

He denies that he is racist, has apologised for any offence caused but stands by his comments.

Calls had been made for Cllr Thompson’s resignation by leader of the borough council, Labour’s Cllr Chris Emmas-Williams.

Leader of the council’s Conservative group, Cllr Kevin Buttery said that Cllr Thompson had been suspended from the party pending an investigation. [DerbyshireLive] Read more

Largest Muslim group says BBC has ‘failed to sufficiently report’ on Tory Islamophobia author image

In a letter to director general Tony Hall, the Muslim Council of Britain says the corporation has failed to be ‘impartial and consistent in its coverage on similar issues’. The comments come as the Labour Party is embroiled in a row over antisemitism and the apparent lack of action.

Last week, the shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said he believed the row over anti-Semitism in the party may have an effect on the election result. He also apologised to the Jewish community ‘for the suffering we’ve inflicted on them’, during a BBC One interview.

The Muslim Council of Britain has asked the broadcaster to give racism against Muslims ‘equal importance’. Signed by the council’s secretary General Harun Khan, claims there is Islamophobia not just across society but at ‘every level of the Conservative party. The letter says: ‘Religious hate crime in England and Wales rose by 40% to its highest level in 2017-18, with more than half of all religiously-motivated attacks being directed at Muslims. [Metro.co.uk] Read more

General election 2019: Tory chairman 'sorry' for Islamophobia in party

Conservative chairman James Cleverly has apologised for cases of Islamophobia in his party.

Mr Cleverly said he was "sorry" when Tory members and candidates "do or say things that are wrong".

But he added that he was "confident" there was now "a robust mechanism" in place to deal with the issue.

The Muslim Council of Britain has accused the Tory party of having a "blind spot for this type of racism" and of not doing enough to tackle it.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics, Mr Cleverly said an investigation into prejudice in his party will get under way before the end of the year. [BBC] Read more

Denial, obfuscation, apathy: why it’s so hard to get Islamophobia on the political agenda

Islamophobia is apparently a “natural reaction” to Islam, with the faith being “the most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness towards unbelievers”. So wrote Boris Johnson in the Spectator in 2005.

Sayeeda Warsi on Tory Islamophobia: 'It feels like I'm in an abusive relationship'

It’s far from the only item on the charge sheet for Johnson’s Islamophobia. He retains Chloe Westley in his team at No 10 despite her having called a far-right activist who has described Islam as “evil” a “hero”; and he gave Zac Goldsmith a position in cabinet despite his racist campaign for mayor of London in 2016. And of course, there is his recent and infamous use of far-right terminology about Muslim women who wear burqas, comparing them to “letterboxes”.

Yet the prime minister’s lack of any acknowledgment of error or wrongdoing on his part and his casual disregard for the impact of his words and actions does not appear to be relevant to large swathes of the media. There is a wealth of evidence of Islamophobia across all levels of the Conservative party. Why does it have so little political traction, and why is it regularly dismissed in mainstream circles? [Guardian Cif] Read more

We cannot afford to be timid about calling out the threat of radical Islam

.... Given the depravity of Khan’s religious views, and the cunning with which he evidently concealed them after his release, no government desistance and disengagement programme was going to deradicalise him.

For all the brow-beating of the British state, and the political ping-pong that has resulted from it, the wrong solutions are being posited to guard against the scale of the threat (even if it is common sense to suggest that those guilty of particularly heinous crimes should serve a longer portion of their sentences than Khan did if they remain a potential security concern).

Part of the problem is that it is increasingly difficult to raise the issue of the menace of radical Islam without being accused of “Islamophobia” by those who have hijacked a noble cause — the fight against anti-Muslim hate crime — and turned it into an attempt to silence all discussion of extreme variants of Islam.

It is perfectly obvious why some Islamophobia campaigners desire such a blanket rallying cry: it masks scrutiny of their own views, which they would be able to promote without fear of challenge.

What is less clear is why politicians and state entities are happy to go along with this charade, when alternative and much tighter definitions of racism against Muslims — such as “anti-Muslim hatred” — exist that would avoid the pitfalls of catch-all Islamophobia definitions while still ameliorating a societal ill. [City A.M.] Read more

Muslim Council: parties must tackle Islamophobia to win votes

Candidates and parties campaigning in the general election must commit to tackling racism and Islamophobia to win the support of Muslim voters, according to the Muslim Council of Britain.

A manifesto setting out how parties’ policies could affect Muslims has been published by the MCB after consulting its affiliates and communities across the UK.

According to the document, British Muslim Perspectives at the 2019 General Election, there are 26 constituencies with a Muslim population of at least 20% of the total, and two – Birmingham Hodge Hill and Bradford West – with estimated Muslim electorates of over 50%.

Muslim voters could influence the outcome in 31 marginal seats, the MCB said last week. On Friday, it organised its first ever voter registration drive in mosques and community organisations.

The new report calls on British Muslims to ensure “every voice is heard in this election”. [The Guardian] Read more

Sayeeda Warsi on Tory Islamophobia: 'It feels like I'm in an abusive relationship'

.... With the party’s eyes fixed firmly on the election, there could be more trouble on the horizon for the Conservatives. In May, the Muslim Council of Britain filed a complaint to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), urging the watchdog to investigate Islamophobia in the Tory party. Since then, the Tories have submitted evidence and the EHRC – which is separately investigating Labour over antisemitism – says it is still considering whether any action is needed.

Warsi, for one, feels there is more work to be done. She is sceptical about Johnson’s motivation for broadening the inquiry, but says she would still get involved, revealing that a senior party official recently sounded her out about taking part. “If that’s the only way to get scrutiny, I’m not just going to sit back and have a monk [sulk] on, as they say in Yorkshire.” But, she says firmly, she is “not prepared to rubber-stamp some nonsensical inquiry”. [The Guardian] Read more