Afzal Khan Shadow Leader of the House Secured Debate
on Islamophobia in the House of Commons
Dr Mozammel Haque
Afzal Khan Labour Member of
Manchester, Gorton and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons secured a debate
on Islamophobia and the House has considered Islamophobia Awareness Month in
the Westminster Hall, House of Commons, on Wednesday, 24 November 2021. Afzal
Khan, MP, made a 10-minute speech outlining the different problems that the
Muslim community has been facing. He said, “The issue is not that the hon.
Gentleman has two employees who are Muslim or that he has friends who are
Muslim; the issue is that we have a Government who are failing to tackle this
problem and the hon. Gentleman is a Member of that Government and needs to
tackle the problem as well.”
Manchester,
Gorton, Labour Member started by saying,“When I go home and
look at my grandchildren, I see limitless potential that deserves to flourish
and thrive, yet I find it heartbreaking that they must grow up in a world where
racism is still present—they will be subject to racism purely because of their
faith—and that I, as their grandfather, must stand up to talk about the rampant
Islamophobia in our midst. This month is an opportunity for us all to tackle
that insidious hatred, which manifests itself in hate crime, discrimination and
loss of opportunity.”
Paul Blomfield, Labour Member for Sheffield Central, asked, “The
information shared with us by the Muslim Council of Britain last week was very
powerful indeed, and reflects the experience that many of us have heard about
from our Muslim constituents. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government
need to take responsibility for engaging effectively with the MCB to tackle the
issue?”
Afzal Khan
Afzal Khan replied, “Yes, I agree, and I will be making that point. I had the privilege of visiting Europe’s first eco-mosque in Cambridge—a real trailblazer in the community. It highlights how effective the British Muslim community has been in tackling the climate crisis with a positive and inspiring message. I extend an invitation to the Minister. I cannot promise that a visit will be as thrilling as Peppa Pig World, but it is worth a visit.”
Jim Shannon, DUP Member for Strongford, said, “I thank the hon.
Gentleman for securing the debate. Does he agree that there is more to be done
to ensure that our children grow together in harmony, celebrating the
differences that we share, which make us stronger when added to the
similarities? That makes us communities. Furthermore, does he believe that one
way to achieve that is to facilitate cross-community events that focus on young
people of different backgrounds coming together to learn more, to understand
more and, inevitably, to accept more about each other, so that we are better
together?”
Afzal Khan replied, “For 2.7 million Muslims, Islamophobia has
distressing and real-life implications. A recent example is the far right
peddling the narrative during the pandemic that British Muslims were
super-spreaders of covid simply by practising their faith. As a result, Muslim
communities suffered a shocking 40% increase in online Islamophobia during this
period, according to Tell MAMA. The online safety Bill is an opportunity for
the Government to better regulate online content, including harmful and racist
material.”
Catherine West, Labour Member for Hornsey and Wood Green, said, “I thank
my hon. Friend for accepting my intervention, and for all his work—and indeed
that of other Members—on this important issue in the House. Does he agree that
the issue is not just about online abuse, but that sports can play a role? I
know he will go on to this topic, but with the Ashes ahead of us, surely now is
the time to tackle Islamophobia in cricket, once and for all.”
Afzal Khan replied, “I thank my hon. Friend. Again, that is a point I
will touch on. I have no doubt that those of us who participate in this debate
will be on the receiving end of further abuse. Social media platforms have a
moral responsibility and a duty to protect their users. Here, a definition of
Islamophobia will help establish a mechanism for accountability and improved
regulation. I will return to the definition in a moment, but can the Minister
outline what measures will be introduced by the Government to keep users safe
online, and what steps are being taken to tackle far-right activity?”
He mentioned, “It would be a mistake, however, to see this as merely an
online phenomenon. The Government’s own figures reveal, once again, that
Muslims have been victim to the highest proportion of all hate crimes committed
this past year. My hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) and
I have written to the Conservative party chair over the surge in hate crimes
against Muslims following the Liverpool attack. Time and again, we see the
conflation of Islam and terrorism, which is wrong and perpetuates a harmful
stereotype of Muslims.”
Afzal Khan also said, “Last week, Azeem Rafiq’s powerful and moving
testimony about his experience in cricket shone a light on how easily racism
and Islamophobia can go unchecked and be simply dismissed as “banter”. A series
of attacks on mosques, including in Manchester and east London, demand serious
action by the Government. Most recently, a man was convicted of terrorism
offences after planning an attack on a mosque in Scotland. Will the Minister outline
what steps are being taken to better safeguard places of worship?”
He mentioned, “Crucially, we must remember that these are not isolated
incidents. Home Office data supports this, showing that referrals to Prevent
for extreme right-wing ideology have increased exponentially. Many of my
parliamentary colleagues and I have pushed for an independent review of the
Prevent strategy for several years. A coalition of more than 450 Muslim
organisations has boycotted the Government’s review of Prevent in protest at
the appointment of William Shawcross as its chair. Shawcross has openly
expressed a hostile view of Islam and Muslims, including suggesting that—I
quote—“Islamic fascism” was the biggest problem facing our society.”
Labour Member for Manchester Gorton said, “I want to put four questions
to the Minister today. Will she outline why the Government appointed someone
with Islamophobic views? Will she respond to the overwhelming discontent over
Shawcross’s appointment? Will she explain why the Government refuses to engage
with the MCB, the largest Muslim organisation in the UK? Who sits on the
Government’s anti-Muslim hatred working group, and has she ever met the group?”
He said, “The appointment of William Shawcross is just a symptom of
something that must be addressed in this debate: the Conservative party’s
Islamophobia crisis. In 2018, we held a general debate on Islamophobia, in
which I delivered the Labour party’s position. Two years later, no meaningful
progress has been made and the Government have failed to take any action on
this issue.”
Nadia Whittome, Labour Member for Nottingham East, said, “I thank my
hon. Friend for giving way and for securing this important debate. Does he
agree that the Prime Minister likening Muslim women to letterboxes and bank
robbers directly fuels Islamophobia—I have seen it myself, as a former hate
crime worker—and that apologising for offence caused is not good enough? The
Prime Minister must apologise for what he said and, more importantly, engage
with the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims and take some real
action, starting with adopting the definition for Islamophobia.”
Afzal Khan replied, “I thank my hon. Friend, and I agree. The APPG on
British Muslims has worked tirelessly to create the definition of Islamophobia,
which has the confidence of more than 800 organisations and has been adopted by
Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP, the Green party and even
the Scottish Conservatives, as well as the Mayors of London and Greater
Manchester and hundreds of councils across the country. I applaud the
aforementioned for taking that positive step.”
He also mentioned, “Defining and naming a problem is the first step in
rooting it out, but it seems that the Government cannot even bring themselves
to use the term Islamophobia. How do they intend to deal with a problem that
they cannot even name? In fact, I challenge the Minister to use the term
Islamophobia today.
Afzal Khan said, “The truth is that the Conservative party has
repeatedly shown it is in denial about this problem through its failure to
accept the definition proposed by the APPG, its failure to conduct a truly
independent investigation and its failure to appoint Government advisers on the
issue. What concerns me is that the Tory party has an institutional problem.
Frankly, it does not care about Islamophobia.
He mentioned, “The Singh review revealed institutional failings in how
the Conservative party handled Islamophobia complaints. However, the review
failed to engage with any Conservative Muslim parliamentarians and, once again,
it did not even acknowledge or mention the term Islamophobia. Given that the
definition has such widespread community support, can I ask the Minister why
the Government insist on reinventing the wheel?
He said, “All of this goes right to the top. We all remember the Prime
Minister’s shocking comment about Muslim women and letterboxes, but what is
less well known is the fact that his comment directly resulted in a 375% rise
in hate crime against Muslims. To add insult to injury, the Prime Minister
continues to ignore the issue. During last year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month,
I wrote to the Prime Minister to urge him to take action and to meet with me
and key Muslim organisations. More than a year later, I am still waiting for a
reply. I raised the matter in the Chamber earlier this month, and Mr Speaker
and I both agreed that it is totally unacceptable for the Prime Minister to
simply ignore letters from Members, no matter the subject. The Muslim community
in our country deserves better: it deserves an explanation and, frankly, an
apology.
Afzal Khan said, “The theme of this year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month
is “Time for change”, and it is time for change. It is time the Government
changed their approach towards Islamophobia and tackled it head on. Whether we
look at evidence from the McGregor-Smith review, the Lawrence review or the
Lammy review, we are confronted with the unavoidable fact that Islamophobia has
damaging consequences on the life chances and equality of Muslims across the
UK.
Florence Eshalomi, Lab/Co-op Member for Vauxhall, said, “I thank my hon.
Friend for making such an excellent speech on this really important issue,
which affects so many of my constituents in Vauxhall. On his point about the
Muslim community being affected, he will know that Muslims have suffered
disproportionately throughout the covid pandemic, and yet they were the ones
helping at mosques. Does he agree that it is really important that we have
leadership from the top, including that apology from the Prime Minister?”
Afzal Khan replied, “I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I
agree—that is exactly what we need. Perhaps, at the end, that is what I will
ask as well.”
He said, “ At the heart of the APPG’s inquiry into a working definition
of Islamophobia was an attempt to do something about the nature, scale and
impact of Islamophobia. As political representatives, we have a responsibility
to listen to the voices of all in our communities and strive to serve them to
the best of our abilities. Representing British Muslims requires more than just
lip service: it requires commitment, leadership and, most importantly, action.
James Daly, Conservative Member for Bury North asked, “It is a pleasure
to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I know the hon. Member for
Manchester, Gorton (Afzal Khan), and I would consider him a friend. We speak
regularly. I am disappointed that a debate on a very important subject has
turned into the normal political attack on the Conservative party. To hear the
sanctimony of an organisation that was investigated by the Equality and Human
Rights Commission for prejudice and antisemitism in lecturing this party on
prejudice is something.”
He said, “We can talk about
the definition of prejudice, but it is within ourselves. The hon. Member for
Manchester, Gorton knows two people who work for me; one is certainly my best
friend. I am a Conservative Back-Bench MP who does not see a difference in
human beings because of their religion, faith or anything. I see the decency in
people and that is what motivates me in politics. It is what motivates Shahbaz
and Khalid. At least two Members opposite know those two people who have given
years of service to my area and its community. To be tarred with what has just
been said—the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton knows it is not correct.”
James Daly also mentioned, “I fight every day in my constituency to
ensure that my Muslim constituents have the best possible representation. When
we talk about Islamophobia, I would like Labour MPs to support me in practical
policies to help with the various issues that affect the Muslim community.
There are lots of important issues, but I will talk about just one. In my seat
and the seats of the hon. Members for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) and
for Manchester, Gorton, just about every Muslim family is touched by a taxi driver
who works there—families who are absolutely dependent on that income. When I
contact the hon. Members for Manchester, Gorton and for Bolton South and say,
“Let’s set up an APPG for taxi driving in Greater Manchester,” and they say,
“No, we can’t do that for political reasons,” it is therefore extremely
disappointing. We could actually put in place practical policies—"
Afzal Khan concluded, “I have just made a 10-minute speech outlining the
different problems that the Muslim community has been facing. The issue is not
that the hon. Gentleman has two employees who are Muslim or that he has friends
who are Muslim; the issue is that we have a Government who are failing to
tackle this problem and the hon. Gentleman is a Member of that Government and
needs to tackle the problem as well.”
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