Last week, as far-right thugs targeted Muslims primarily, the former Conservative immigration minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News that saying “Allahu Akbar” —“God is greater”— in public should be an arrestable offence. This is a solemn phrase millions of British Muslims use daily.

Jenrick’s Islamophobia received no pushback from the interviewer, no response from his party leader, and led to no apology: a stark reflection of how Islamophobia has become acceptable, not just on the far right, but also in mainstream media and politics.

What makes it even worse is the context of his comments.

In Southport, a mob hurled bricks at a mosque, causing one worshipper, trapped along with the imam, to think he might die. Others attempted to set fire to a hotel in Rotherham used to house asylum seekers. Far-right thugs stopped cars in Middlesbrough to check if their drivers were white before letting them pass. A “large group of men” beat up a black man in Manchester, and a Muslim man was stabbed at a train station in Liverpool. In Hull, violent far-right rioters dragged an Asian man out of his car, while racially abusing him by repeatedly yelling “P**i”. Others shouted “fuck Muslims” in a “demonstration”, children were found screaming “who the fuck is Allah?” and other children joined their parents shouting “P***s out”. And some attacked an Islamic book stall in Liverpool, whilst others vandalized Muslim graves in Burnley.

There was a similar story online. According to researcher Marc Owen Jones, on X,65 per cent of impressions earned by posts about Muslims between 28th July and 9th August (155m impressions) were anti-Muslim or anti-migrant.

The appalling scale of the far-right thuggery led to a palpable and justifiable fear among Muslims and minority communities across the country. Even Humza Yousaf, former first minister of Scotland, shared that the riots made him question whether he and his family would remain in the UK. And the mayor of London Sadiq Khan shared that he did not feel safe as a Muslim politician in the wake of the riots.

In this environment, Jenrick felt confident in pushing out his hate and divisiveness. He was not alone. Elon Musk shared—and then deleted—a false post from the co-leader of the far-right Britain First party about the UK building “detainment camps” for rioters, and proclaimed that civil war in the UK was “inevitable”; Matthew Goodwin seemed to suggest that a “son of immigrants” is not really British; and Nigel Farage called “some of the actions” of far-right rioters “truly disgusting”—but also appeared to excuse rioters, saying it was “a reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease that is out there shared by tens of millions of people.”

Certain news outlets followed suit. The Daily Telegraph headlined its front page “Far-right clash with Muslims in rioting”, and ran a host of frankly embarrassing and repulsive articles; and GB News consistently seems to be trying to make excuses for the far right.

You might argue that they are targeting the 34 per cent of Conservative party voters and 63 per cent of Reform voters who blamed Muslims for the riots.

Perhaps. But I think it goes deeper.

Too many people in positions of power have, for too long, denied Islamophobia, or outright encouraged it.

Let us not forget the rampant Islamophobia in the Conservative party: from Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women to “letterboxes”, which led to a 375 per cent rise in hate crime against Muslim women, to former culture secretary Nadine Dorries and current MP Bob Blackman retweeting Tommy Robinson.

Let us not forget the negative coverage of Muslims in the UK media, in which stereotypical tropes about them are regularly propagated. The editor of the Daily Express even admitted that the paper helped create “Islamophobic sentiment”. Research by the UNHCR found the Daily Mail and the Sun showed a hostility towards migrants that was “unique” among the newspapers they sampled.

There is a reason why approximately a third of the UK population endorse casual prejudices such as “Islam is a religion of violence” or “Muslims will never be as British as other British people”.

While we have seen fantastic examples of community, solidarity and allyship against racism, even belatedly from some of its worst perpetrators, we cannot get away from the fact that far-right Islamophobia has gained a public foothold.

And removing this foothold is not straightforward. It requires a reflection on the power dynamics and drivers of Islamophobia (and other forms of bigotry) in our society. There are some community-based and education-centric solutions, but there also needs to be a concerted effort to tackle it both from the very top, where influence sits.

In practice, this means (finally) appointing an Islamophobia adviser with support from Muslim communities to focus on the issue; adopting the APPG definition of Islamophobia—that it is “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”—as part of a broader effort to embed an understanding of this kind of racism in society; and implementing measures  requiring social media giants to refer breaches of the law to local police, as well as to monitor and penalize clear cases of incitement to racial or religious hatred.

It’s time to turn words into action, and to ensure that Islamophobia is challenged. The question is, do we have the will to do it?

Source: Prospect Magazine

Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday as Scotland’s first minister, saying he was not willing to trade his principles to win a no-confidence vote.

The move came ahead of two forthcoming confidence votes, which Yousaf could lose and were called by the opposition after he ended a power-sharing deal between his Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens last week. The Bute House agreement was brokered by Nicola Sturgeon in 2021.

Addressing journalists at his official residence, Glasgow-born Yousaf whose father emigrated from Pakistan said after a weekend of reflection, he had concluded that “repairing a relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm.”

“I have therefore informed the SNP’s national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader and ask that she commence a leadership contest as soon as possible,” he added.

“For a minority government to be able to govern effectively and efficiently, trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental,” he said. “And while a route through this week’s motion of no confidence was absolutely possible, I am not willing to treat my values and principles or do deals with whomever simply for retaining power.

‘We should all celebrate multiculturalism’

Yousaf, who took over from Sturgeon last year, expressed a deep-seated commitment to his values over political expediency. “I cannot tell you what an honor it is being the first minister of the country I love, the country I’m raising my family in and the only country I will ever call home,” he said. “People that looked like me were not in positions of political influence.”

He said the UK has a British Hindu prime minister, a Muslim mayor of London, a black Welsh first minister … “… and for a little while longer a Scots Asian first minister of this country.”

He added the nation should all celebrate that multiculturalism.

“For those who decry the multiculturalism has failed across the UK, we suggest that the evidence is quite to the contrary,” he said.

“And that is something we should all celebrate. I’ve had the honor of serving yours in a variety of roles, whatever position are held during my time in politics have always been guided by my values,” he said.

Despite politicians being maligned, he said “when we get it right, and often we do. We are a force for good that can transform people’s lives for the better.”

“I love the country, raising my family and the only country or whatever culture as a young boy born and raised in Scotland, I could never have dreamed that one day, I would have the privilege of leading my country,” he added.

Yousaf said he will be staying on as first minister until the SNP elects a new leader.

The Scottish parliament has 28 days to opt for a new first minister before an election is forced.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking to Sky News on Friday, Yousaf called on political leaders to “stop beating around the bush”, and that if recent statements from Israeli ministers were “not tantamount to ethnic cleansing, then I don’t know what is”.

Yousaf, told Sky News: “In the last week, we have heard statements from senior ministers in Netanyahu’s government, the finance secretary, the national security minister, very senior members of Netanyahu’s government.

They have made statements that the population of Gaza should be resettled, moved out of Gaza, and have gone as far as saying that Israeli settlements should now be in Gaza.

If that is not tantamount to ethnic cleansing, then I don’t know what is.

I think political leaders should stop beating around the bush, should call what they’re seeing in Gaza by what it is.

We are seeing not only a humanitarian crisis, but we’re now seeing senior members of the Netanyahu government making statements that are frankly the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing, and should be condemned in the strongest possible manner.”

Addressing the United Kingdom, Yousaf said the government must clarify to “Israel” that its conduct in Gaza has surpassed what is considered a “legitimate response”.

He also called the UK’s stubborn refusal to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza “shameful”, as he tried to urge for the employment of its influential power to halt all Israeli attacks and hold Israeli officials, including PM Benjamin Netanyahu, accountable for the killing of over 22,000 Palestinians.

Moreover, he advocated for sending aid to Gaza to curb the unfolding humanitarian crisis, as 85% of the population has been internally displaced and faces imminent threats of famine and disease.

Yousaf declared that it was “essential and urgent” that the UK government tell “Israel” and the world that “only Palestinians can have authority in Gaza.”

Source: Sky News