MUSLIM MPS SHARE SHOCKING STORIES
OF ISLAMOPHOBIA, URGE TORIES TO ACT
Dr Mozammel Haque
Followings are the report by the Islam Channel on the Debate on
Islamophobia in the Westminster Hall of the House of Commons in the British
Parliament on 24 November 2021.
“Muslim MPs shared their experiences of Islamophobia in a heated Commons
debate on the topic on Wednesday.
In the one-and-a-half-hour debate, MPs from various parties demanded the
Conservatives accept the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British
Muslims' definition of Islamophobia and engage with the Muslim Council of
Britain (MCB) again.
But the debate turned into a row with the Conservatives protesting that
it had become political — the Tory Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch accused
the other parties of turning the issue into a “political football”.
SNP MP Anum Qaisar responded by saying she tore up her planned speech to
instead talk about her lived experience of facing Islamophobia: “I was nine
years old when I was asked if my dad was a terrorist the day after 9/11."
"To be perfectly frank, I will not accept a debate in which we are
told that we have to take the politics out of it, because the Prime Minister
peddles dangerous rhetoric when he says that veiled Muslim women look like
“letterboxes”. I am a Muslim. I know how that feels" added Qaisar.
MPs share their lived experience
Labour shadow minister Rosena Allin-Khan revealed how she was attacked
when she was 11.
"Like many other speakers today, I have my scars. From being
attacked by a racist gang in the park with dogs, as me and my brother ran away,
having our clothes ripped from us, scared; to the audible gasps of, “Why the
hell would you choose to be a Muslim?”, my experiences are as real as they are
painful," she said.
Apsana Begum, Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse, talked of being the
first hijabi MP and how that makes some people uncomfortable: "From the
regular mispronunciation of my name to being mistaken for other hijab-wearing
women who work in Parliament, to being asked, even, if I am related to Shamima
Begum."
She added: "This is the kind of material that I receive: “Vile and
filthy religion…importing vile and filthy creatures like Apsana Begum”;
“Muslims should be banned from public office…we can’t trust their allegiances”;
“Muslims are the masters of lying. They are the bane of our Christian society.
They do not belong and should be deported”; “Deport the Filth”; “Throw her and
her family back to where they came from”; “Chop her hand off”; “This could be
one of your last statements”. Those are not even, by any measure, the worst of
what I receive."
The debate was secured by Afzal Khan, Shadow Leader of the House and
Chair of the Labour Muslim Network, who pointed out the importance of defining
the problem as it is the "first step in rooting it [Islamophobia]
out."
Both Khan and Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy also questioned the
government's controversial appointment of William Shawcross to head a review of
its anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent. Shawcross is accused of having a
"hostile view of Islam and Muslims."
"The appointment of William Shawcross is just a symptom of
something that must be addressed in this debate: the Conservative party’s
Islamophobia crisis," said Khan.
Other Muslim MPs talked about the wide-ranging issues that stem from
Islamophobia.
Labour's Yasmin Qureshi mentioned
Islamophobia in other countries, while colleague Naz Shah highlighted the media's role in
fuelling Islamophobia and how it results in unconscious bias.
"A sizeable percentage of British Muslim women do not wear the
headscarf, not because they do not want to but because they fear that, by
wearing one, they may be attacked, or due to prejudice, will have lower chances
of succeeding and reaching the top," said Shah.
MPs from all sides underlined the positive impact and contribution of
Muslims to wider society, from running soup kitchens to playing an active role
in community initiatives.
Heated debate
MPs addressed the defensive tone of the comments from the Conservative
Party.
SNP deputy leader Kirsten Oswald said:
"The tone of some of the comments opposite was really regrettable today...
And some of the eye rolling and the language used was most unfortunate."
Meanwhile, Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse said she was
"disturbed by the initial aggression of some Tory members in this
debate."
"We need to listen to those who have lived that experience and
recognise it as hurt and not call it politics that is wrong," she added.
But many welcomed the "reasoned" contributions from
Conservative MPs Anthony Higginbottom and Steven Baker.
Baker mentioned how he is
"viciously trolled by Islamophobes" whenever he stands up for his
British Muslim constituents. He urged the government to meet with the MCB and
the APPG on British Muslims to accept a definition of Islamophobia.
The Tories have a policy of not engaging with the MCB.
"It’s been a very feisty debate and it’s quite clear that concerns
about anti-Muslim hatred transcend party lines," Badenoch opened her speech with.
She said she would meet the APPG officers and listed what the government
is doing to tackle Islamophobia. " I'm not afraid of using the phrase
Islamophobia. We're not going to have a semantic argument. But there are good
reasons why we refer to anti-Muslim hatred," said the Tory minister.
Badenoch admitted that “things have been slow” when it comes to acting
on Islamophobia, adding that there will be "a different change of tone and
pace with me as faith minister."
A few MPs talked about the conflation of terrorism and Islam in
discussions. Later in her speech, Badenoch said the murder of Sir David Amess
and added that it was done by "someone claiming to act on behalf of
Islam."
Qureshi chastised Badenoch for adding that line: "She started her
speech by using a trope about Muslims and terrorism, yet she is meant to be
talking about Islamophobia."
Acknowledgement:
Islam Channel
Courtesy@Islam
Channel
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