Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by figures in his own party to tackle “head on” those pushing “Islamophobic talking points” in the debate on grooming gangs despite Labour fears of losing votes to Reform.

Writing exclusively for The i Paper, the leaders of the Labour Muslim Network, have urged the Prime Minister to show the “courage” to call out attacks such as Robert Jenrick’s call for a crackdown on immigration from countries with “alien cultures” and “medieval attitudes”.

They also sounded the alarm that the “poisoned discourse” would only get worse after Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to remove content controls from his social media platforms to make it more like the X platform owned by Donald Trump ally Elon Musk, who has revived the debate on grooming gangs in the UK in recent days.

The PM may take particular note of the intervention from Labour Muslims after his party’s performance in July’s general election suffered over its stance on Gaza.

Starmer on Wednesday again rejected calls from Conservatives, Reform and tech billionaire Musk to launch a national inquiry on grooming gangs of mainly South Asian heritage.

He also warned Tory leader Kemi Badenoch against the “lies and misinformation and slinging of mud” in the debate on grooming gangs and suggested he had “jumped on the bandwagon” with her calls for an inquiry.

Earlier this week, Starmer said Badenoch’s party was “amplifying what the far-right is saying” on grooming while failing in government to act on the landmark 2022 Alexis Jay report on child sex abuse.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Badenoch however accused Starmer of “enabling those people who wish to smear all British Muslims based on the actions of a small minority” by refusing an inquiry.

She also suggested Labour politicians may be “complicit” in “one of the worst scandals in British history”, which has blown up since X boss Musk launched a barrage of attacks on Starmer and Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips on the issue, and voiced support for jailed far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.

But Labour Muslim Network chair author Ali Milani and vice-chair Samayya Afzal, said they had seen evidence of politicians using the row to employ political strategies “predicated on demonising Muslim communities, attacking Islam and targeting (mostly Muslim) migrants who come to this country in search of safety and asylum”.

They wrote: “Muslims have had to contend with being called ‘alien’, ‘backward’, ‘medieval’, ‘barbaric’, ‘extreme’ and so much more. We recognise those classic Islamophobic tropes that suggest Muslims have an inherent problem with women, that Muslims demean women, and that Muslims bring with them ‘medieval’ cultures to infect Britain. None of it is true. We know that. The reality is Musk, Jenrick and all their friends and colleagues know it too.”

Milani and Afzal urged Starmer to ensure that fears over losing votes to Reform does not temper Labour’s response to the claims.

They said: “We know many are fearful of (Nigel) Farage and the rise of Reform. We have heard it from Labour figures across the party.But the answer is not to cower to them or allow them to define the narrative of Britain’s past or future. That is not only a recipe for division and further hate, but also of political suicide. You cannot out-Farage, Farage. The answer is to challenge them head on. If they want to divide our communities, we will unite them. If they want to attack migrants and refugees, we will defend them. If they want to embrace the likes of Elon Musk, we will stand in their way. Do we have the courage to do that?”

Reform leader Nigel Farage has fallen out with Elon Musk after he said there was no place for Tommy Robinson in his party, following Musk’s support for the right-wing agitator, who is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

After the comment Musk tweeted that Farage should be replaced as Reform leader as he did not “have what it takes”.

Source: The i Paper

Article by Rakib Ehsan

This summer’s rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland were a watershed moment in community relations – and the fall-out is beginning to emerge.

Fresh British Muslim survey data published by Tell MAMA (which stands for monitoring anti-Muslim attacks) provides much cause for concern. Carried out two months after the start of far-right public disorder following the horrific murder of three little girls in Southport, seven in ten British Muslims surveyed said anti-Muslim hate had become more widespread, with two in three also saying that the potential for risk and harm to their own religious communities had increased. However, it is not all doom-and-gloom and there are also some positive findings which make me feel optimistic. Three in five Muslims said they still feel safe in Britain, with half saying that they felt more open about their religious identity in the aftermath of the riots (especially when talking with friends and work colleagues).

The findings show that while we are a relatively successful multi-ethnic and religiously diverse democracy, there needs to be a more robust approach when it comes to ‘managing’ this diversity – which is not necessarily easy. For the newly elected Labour government, the Southport atrocity and subsequent disorder was quite the baptism of fire – but its response to the far-right rioting was left wanting and appears to have alienated a variety of groups in modern Britain.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, sought to drain the riots of their political and ideological character from the get-go – characterizing them as “mindless racist thuggery”. In the aftermath of Southport, an unfounded conspiracy theory that the suspect was an illegal Middle Eastern Muslim migrant who had arrived in the UK on a small boat from France was allowed to spread like wildfire on social media platforms such as X, with little to no intervention by the relevant authorities.

Dismissing the rioting as “mindless” risks overlooking the fact that there was the deliberate targeting of Muslim communities – including mosques and businesses. This included the attack on the local mosque in Southport and the destruction of a café in south Belfast. In addition to this, in Manvers near Rotherham, a hotel accommodating asylum seekers was set ablaze and had its windows smashed in. The idea that all those involved in the riots were thoughtless racist thugs masks the reality that some have deeply ideological histories which include anti-Muslim hatred. Last week, it was revealed that a man who pleaded guilty to taking part in the disorder was previously sentenced to ten years in prison for deliberately setting fire to a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent. Back in his 2011 trial, Simon Beech – now 36 years old – said that he had been a member of both the neo-fascist British National Party (BNP) and the English Defense League (EDL).

Rebuilding after Southport

Starmer may have deliberately set out to downplay the ideological elements of the rioting because doing otherwise would leave him vulnerable to the accusation that he was justifying such violent disorder. But this strategy has meant that the Labour leader has failed to truly recognize the anti-Muslim nature of much of the rioting which unfolded in the summer – further widening the disconnect between British Muslim communities and their so-called ‘natural party’.

As the country looks to rebuild from the trauma of the Southport murders and the subsequent violent disorder, part of that must be reassuring law-abiding, hard-working, and security-oriented British Muslim families of their rightful place in modern Britain. To shore up our national ‘community of communities’, it is vital that we all learn the right lessons from what took place this summer – including the Prime Minister.

Source: City A.M.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has quit the Tory party because, she believes, it has become too right wing and toxic. I know and like Baroness Warsi. She’s feisty and smart and speaks her mind. But I can’t abide her deeply held, low tax, small state, pro-austerity conservative values. Nor can I comprehend how she reconciles that ideology with her passionate commitment to Muslims in Britain, many of whom suffered horribly under successive Tory governments.

Here you see two highly politicized female Muslims, whose views, at times, converge, but mostly diverge.

Twenty years ago, barely any Muslim voted for the Tories. That changed. Some, like Warsi, became prosperous business people and avid Conservatives. The rest kept faith in Labour, faith that is breaking over Keir Starmer’s response to Israel’s illegal war. Now we have Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chair, whose Muslim parents emigrated here from Sri Lanka. Times change.

Warsi’s new book, Muslims Don’t Matter, is out today. Cover quotes include this by the multiple award-winning actor Riz Ahmed: “Burns with righteous anger. An urgent read for our times.”

While she was working on the book, riots exploded across the country. Far-right extremists tried to set fire to places housing asylum seekers; black and brown people were assaulted, mosques damaged. Warsi holds right-wing journalists, politicians and intellectuals responsible for fostering that burning hostility. I am with her on that. As is the veteran journalist Peter Oborne, who writes: “Over the past 14 years, the Tory government has established a coercive architecture of control and surveillance over British Muslims, while granting legitimacy to what would traditionally have been regarded as the far right.’”

I also salute her for taking a brave stand against Britain’s inaction over Israel’s punitive violence in Gaza. However, I cannot go along with Warsi and other prominent Muslims who believe Islamophobia defines our lives.

Anti-Muslim prejudices sting us often. On Sunday, at a wedding party, a white guy noticed I was drinking water and asked loudly if I was a Muslim. I replied: “Have you questioned others swigging water?” “No,” was the gruff response. I was the only brown guest there. The encounter made me feel like an outsider. These moments happen a lot.

Across Europe, the demonisation of Muslims has led to a frightening political project which could lead to the religious and ethnic cleansing we saw in Bosnia. Robert Jenrick wants to arrest us for saying “God is Great” in Arabic, a phrase I incant every day. But panicked Muslims should remember the dark past.

Back in 1988, when The Satanic Verses divided the nation, I felt isolated and torn as the only Muslim working in the mainstream media. I was a lover of the arts, a believer in free expression, a Salman Rushdie devotee. But I also felt an obligation to oppose the attacks on believers by the intelligentsia. Tony Blair’s obsession with Muslim enemies within led to serious human rights violations. Muslims back then had no agency, no real influence. They have both now.

Four pro-Palestinian, independent Muslims defeated sitting MPs at the last election. Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch fears they have “alien ideas which have no place here”. And Jonathan Ashworth, the toppled MP for Leicester South, moaned about the result. They now resent those who campaigned and won on an issue that matters to millions of Britons of all backgrounds.

In the last election, 25 Muslim heritage MPs got into parliament, mostly for Labour. Two are independents and two Tories. Talented Muslims are rising high in the City, in the arts and sciences and other spheres. Muslim migrants yearn to come here because they see what is possible in spite of Islamophobia. Innumerable white Britons came out to protect the riot victims and thousands march every week for Gaza. We are friends and lovers. These are big, irreversible changes.

I come to my most serious disagreement with Baroness Warsi. Her intense focus on Islamophobia distracts attention from the harm and damage we cause to ourselves or the oppression of young Muslims, particularly females and young people, who crave freedoms and choices. Progressive Muslims need to confront conservative Islam as ferociously as they do Islamophobia.

Our continuing advancement depends on honesty, cultural liberation and productive alliances with human rights activists of all races. That is harder than simply fighting Islamophobia. And as crucial, in my view.

Source: iNews

The United Nations committee responsible for combating racism has criticized the United Kingdom over continuing hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobic incidents, following riots fueled by hate and misinformation that gripped the country this summer.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed deep concern on Friday, August 23, over the presence of racist speech on various platforms, particularly when perpetuated by politicians and public figures.

The committee was “particularly concerned about recurring racist acts, violence, and hate speech against ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers by extremist far-right and white supremacist individuals and groups.”

According to CERD’s report, the UK must act to curb the sharp increase in the use of racist hate speech by British politicians and high-profile public figures. Ministers must “adopt comprehensive measures to discourage and combat racist hate speech and xenophobic discourse by political and public figures” and ensure that such cases are “effectively investigated and sanctioned.”

The committee members declined to name which politicians or public figures had made comments triggering the committee’s concern, but added there were “so many credible reports” of racist comments by high-profile individuals that there was “no doubt that the issue is a serious one in the UK”.

The unrest, which gripped the UK for over a week in July and August, was triggered by misinformation surrounding a tragic stabbing incident in Southport, England, where three young girls were killed.

The suspect, a 17-year-old boy named Axel Rudakubana, was initially reported as a Muslim immigrant, despite being born in Cardiff to Christian Rwandan parents. This false narrative quickly spread on social media, inciting violence across the country.

Exploiting the tragedy, far-right groups launched protests that spiraled into violent clashes with police. Hotels housing asylum seekers were set on fire, and mosques and businesses owned by ethnic and religious minorities were attacked. In total, around 600 people were arrested in connection with the riots.

Notorious anti-immigration figures like Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage were accused of stoking the flames. Farage, a prominent MP and leader of Reform UK, warned ominously of further unrest, while his previous comments on Muslims not sharing British values further fueled tensions.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, labeling it as “far-right thuggery.”

Presenting the report on Friday based on a four-year review into Britain’s record on tackling race discrimination, the committee highlighted “very troubling” manifestations of racism within the UK, flagging particular concern about racial profiling in stop and search practices, and the “excessive and deadly” use of force by law enforcement.

Committee members were “particularly concerned about the high number of strip-searches carried out on children, especially children of African descent, by law enforcement officials, and at the increase of police presence in schools with higher proportions of ethnic minority children”.

The government should “take steps to address the over-policing of schools with higher proportions of ethnic minority pupils and adopt and strengthen legislation and other measures to explicitly prohibit strip-searches on children”, the report advised.

A UK government spokesperson said on Friday: “There is no excuse for the hatred, violence and intimidation we saw online and on our streets. It was not legitimate protest, it was violent thuggery, and why we have taken the toughest action to ensure those involved in the disorder, directly or indirectly by stirring up hatred, face the full force of the law.”

Source: UN News

London’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner threatened to charge foreigners amid the UK’s ongoing far-right, anti-Muslim protests for “whipping up hatred” online, stating billionaire and X owner Elon Musk could face potential prosecution.

“We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News on Friday, August 9.

The Commissioner added that “Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law,” naming “the likes of Elon Musk” as potential investigation targets when asked about charging people on social media residing outside the UK.

More than 700 people have been arrested as of August 9, with over 300 charged for their suspected participation in the anti-Muslim riots, and over 30 have been indicted with online crimes. These offenses consist of sharing footage of the ongoing violent riots, or posting content that the Crown Prosecutorial Service describes as inciting “violence or hatred.”

Musk, alongside several other critics, accused the government of restricting freedom of speech and operating a “two-tier” justice system where white British suspects are punished harsher compared to immigrants.

“Sure seems like unequal justice in the UK,” Musk said on X alongside a series of memes comparing newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer to a Nazi officer and the British government to George Orwell’s “1984” totalitarian dictatorship.

The Telegraph reported on Friday that Starmer may potentially amend the UK’s Online Safety Act to persecute social media companies that enable the spread of “legal but harmful” content.

The clause was originally intended to be passed by the former Conservative government, but it was withdrawn after receiving backlash from Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch, who criticized the bill as “legislating for hurt feelings.”

Elon Musk shared a fake article falsely attributed to The Telegraph, claiming that Keir Starmer was considering sending far-right rioters to “emergency detainment camps” in the Falklands.

Musk deleted his post after about 30 minutes, but before it was removed, a screenshot captured by Politics.co.uk showed it had nearly two million views.

The post included an image shared by Ashlea Simon, co-leader of the far-right group Britain First, with the caption, “We’re all being deported to the Falklands.”

The fabricated article, styled to appear as though it was written by a senior Telegraph reporter, falsely claimed that Falklands camps would be used to detain prisoners from ongoing riots due to overcrowding in the British prison system.

The Telegraph confirmed on Thursday that it had never published the article and stated, “This is a fabricated headline for an article that does not exist. We notified relevant platforms and requested that the post be taken down.”

The newspaper said in a post on X that it was “aware of an image circulating on X which purports to be a Telegraph article about ‘emergency detainment camps’. No such article has ever been published by the Telegraph.”

Musk has not apologized for sharing the fake report but has continued to post content criticizing the UK government and law enforcement’s handling of the riots.

Source: Al Mayadeen English

It comes amid a 365 percent surge in anti-Muslim hate incidents across the UK since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

She said: “There’s been an explosion of Islamophobia since October 7 – but there’s also a huge underreporting of the issue.”

“In my constituency, people report it to me but not the police. They kind of just put it down to the price you pay for being a Muslim in this country, (but) reporting is then what drives police policy, social policy and potential legislation. We all have a role to play.”

Ms Mahmood made the comments after the recent screening of HIJABI, a documentary created by BAFTA award-winning filmmaker, Samir Mehanovic, at the House of Commons.

The documentary charts the journeys of five British women who choose to wear the hijab and their experiences of Islamophobia in the UK and was unveiled to mark the International Day To Combat Islamophobia and International Women’s Day.

The heartwrenching story of a Muslim grandmother left devastated after an Islamophobic attack by teenagers and forced to flee Britain formed part of the testimonies heard in the film.

During a panel discussion after the screening, Ms Mahmood, who has been MP for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010, added: “Islamophobia has passed the dinner party test – it’s seen as acceptable. This is not just a Muslim problem, it should be addressed by all of society.”

According to Tell Mama, an organization dedicated to fighting Islamophobia, 65 percent of all incidents target women, with those who wear a hijab or niqab especially vulnerable.

Lee Anderson, the former Tory deputy chairman, was suspended from his party last month after accusing Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, of being controlled by Islamists.

Mr Anderson has refused to apologise for the remarks despite Rishi Sunak, Britain’s first Asian prime minister, labelling them “wrong”.

Speaking after the screening, Labour MP Afzal Khan said: “With Islamophobic hate crime having trebled since October and senior members of the Conservative Party spouting Islamophobia through the media in recent weeks, there has never been a more pressing time to listen to the testimonies of visibly Muslim women in Britain.

A government spokesperson told The Independent: “British Muslim women make a huge contribution to the United Kingdom and in strengthening the ties that bind our country together.

“It is unacceptable for anyone to feel unsafe while practising their religion and we take a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Muslim hatred.

“We expect the police to fully investigate all hate crimes and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure the cowards who commit these abhorrent offences feel the full force of the law.”

Shaista Aziz, who was among the first Labour councillors to resign in protest over Keir Starmer’s response to the Gaza attacks said: “When it comes to Islamophobia, there’s rightly lots of focus on the government and what is they are doing and not doing. There’s no focus though, on the man who wants to become the next leader of this country: Keir Starmer.”

A recent poll by HOPE not Hate revealed that 58 percent of Conservative Party members think Islam is a threat to the British way of life while Labour’s support amongst British Muslims has plummeted amid major concerns about Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the Gaza war.

London-based charity Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) reports that many Islamophobia incidents have involved people being targeted over their support for Palestine, as the Israel-Hamas war spirals on.

Source: The Independent