Here we are again, debating the right of Muslim women to wear what they want. Last week, the Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin asked the prime minister, Keir Starmer, if he planned to follow other European countries and prohibit burqas.

Then the leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, called for bosses to be able to ban the burqa in the workplace. Following the example of the former Labor minister Jack Straw, who in 2006 sparked the first burqa debate by asking constituents at his surgeries to remove their face coverings, she stated that she does not see constituents at her surgeries if they have their faces covered, “whether it’s a burqa or a balaclava”.

These comments from politicians hoping to appease rightwing voters have real repercussions for the safety of Muslim women like me. Muslim women, especially those who wear coverings ranging from the headscarf known as the hijab to the full body and face covering known as the burqa, have become a symbol in UK politics of migration and integration. They – or perhaps the perceived oppressive men in their lives – are outsiders who refuse to live by British values. When politicians call to ban the burqa, they position themselves as defenders of a way of life under threat from outside forces.

The timing of this cannot be ignored. Reform, which triumphed at the recent local elections, warns in its manifesto that “unchecked migration has pushed Britain to breaking point”. The Conservatives, keen to claw back any defecting voters, have positioned themselves as equally tough on immigration and integration.

When our national leaders parrot catchy soundbites such as “ban the burqa”, what they are really doing is normalizing Islamophobia by making it part of mainstream political conversations. Islamophobic incidents rose by 375% in the week after Boris Johnson called veiled Muslim women “letterboxes” in 2018.

But I’m sure you’ve heard all of this before, because yet again, here we are: Muslim women defending their right to choose how they exist in British society. What is really being obscured are more pressing issues: inequality, a lack of affordable housing, crumbling public services, a struggling NHS. This was as true in the early 2000s as it is now.

Source: The Guardian

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

Candidates to become the UK Conservative Party’s new leader have thrown their weight behind Israel following the assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in Lebanon.

Robert Jenrick, attending a meeting of the Conservative Friends of Israel wearing a hoodie reading “Hamas are terrorists”, said the Star of David should be shown at every entry point to the UK to show the country’s support of Israel.

He also said if he became prime minister that he would move the UK embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, emulating former US President Donald Trump.

“If the Foreign Office or the civil servants don’t want to do it, I will build it myself,” he told the audience.

“I want this country to be the most welcoming country in the world for Israelis and for the Jewish community. So that at every airport and point of entry to our great country there is the Star of David there as a symbol that we support Israel, we stand with Israel. We are friends and allies of Israel, and Israelis are welcome in our country.”

His rival Kemi Badenoch also made pro-Israel comments as she attempted to win over fellow MPs and the 172,000 members of the Conservative Party following the announced resignation of Rishi Sunak in the wake of defeat at the July general election.

Speaking to Sky News at the opening of the Conservative Party conference on Sunday, Badenoch said she welcomed the killing of the Hezbollah leader last week.

“I would be congratulating Prime Minister Netanyahu, I think what they did was extraordinary. Israel is showing that it has moral clarity in dealing with its enemies and the enemies of the West as well,” she said.

Israel has carried out a relentless bombing campaign across Lebanon in recent days, targeting areas in Beirut as well as the south and the east of the country.

The continued bombings have raised concerns that the Israeli army may be preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon.

Israeli tanks have been seen amassing near the Lebanese border, with ABC News quoting a US official who said that Israel may conduct a limited ground operation in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said Israeli attacks have displaced up to 1 million people in Lebanon, calling it “the largest displacement movement that may have happened” in the country’s history.

Sunday’s attacks were particularly severe in northeastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, where at least 17 members of the same family were killed in an Israeli strike on a home in the town of Zboud.

Beirut’s streets remain filled with people who fled last week’s attacks on Dahiyeh as they search for temporary shelter.

Source: Middle East Eye