Why the Tories are being accused of Islamophobia

Muslim Council of Britain calls for
independent inquiry over ‘more than weekly incidents’

In Depth

The MCB specifically criticised the party for failing to take
action against Tory MP Bob Blackman, “who was forced to apologise
after sharing a link from an anti-Muslim US website in March”,
reports The Guardian.

The letter, written by the group’s secretary general, Harun
Khan, lists alleged nine incidents that are said to have taken
place in April and at the beginning of May.

These include the case of David Boston, a Conservative candidate
who was suspended days before local elections
for posting a photo of bacon hanging from a door handle, with the
caption: “Protect your house from terrorists.”

Khan wrote that such incidents were just the tip of the
iceberg.

He continued: “We want all political parties to ensure that they
are firm in their commitment against all forms of bigotry and
discrimination. Our democracy should not be overshadowed by a
divisive culture within political parties that scapegoats
minorities and alienates some who share similar political
positions.”

The group recommends four steps for the Conservative Party,
including launching a “genuinely independent” inquiry and
publishing a list of incidents of Islamophobia.

It also suggests an education and training scheme on
Islamophobia.

Tory Muslim backbencher Baroness Warsi backed the MCB’s call,
saying it was “a shame” that a public rebuke was required in order
to make her party treat the subject seriously.

“What I would like to see is, first of all, people within the
party stopping denying this is an issue, and then starting to
acknowledge the extent of the issue, and then setting out a clear
pathway of how we’re going to deal with it,” she told Sky News.

Speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston in April, Warsi said: “I know
within my own party there are almost now weekly occurrences of
Islamophobic incidents and rhetoric.”

This is not the first time that the MCB has called for an urgent
inquiry, notes Vice News. In 2016, the council denounced what
it described as “dog-whistle” racism from the party’s
then-candidate for London mayor Zak Goldsmith after he described
opponent Sadiq Khan as “radical”.

Miqaad Versi, the MCB’s assistant secretary general, raised the
issue again in 2017, after Goldsmith was selected to run as an
MP. Versi described the number of Islamophobic incidents as “truly
staggering”.