“It’s like they are complicit in this sort of racism."
The Conservative Party has been accused of “toxic racism” and being Islamophobic, something that could fuel far-right hatred on the streets.
The issue was thrust into the spotlight when former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson made comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
On GB News, Mr Anderson said: I don’t actually believe that the Islamists have got control of our country, but what I do believe is they’ve got control of Khan and they’ve got control of London.
“He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates.”
His remarks were condemned by Labour and some Conservatives, with senior Tory MP Sir Sajid Javid describing them as “ridiculous”.
Sadiq Khan accused Mr Anderson of “pouring fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred”. He also criticised Rishi Sunak for his silence on the matter.
“These comments from a senior Conservative are Islamophobic, are anti-Muslim and are racist.”
Highlighting the spike in hate crimes, Mr Khan said:
“These comments pour fuel on the fire of anti-Muslim hatred.
“I am afraid the deafening silence from Rishi Sunak and from the cabinet is them condoning this racism.
“I am afraid it confirms to many people across the country that there’s a hierarchy when it comes to racism.
“I am unclear why Rishi Sunak, why members of his cabinet aren’t calling this out and aren’t condemning this.
“It’s like they are complicit in this sort of racism.
“The message it sends is Muslims are fair game when it comes to racism and anti-Muslim hatred.
“It’s not good enough in 2024 in the United Kingdom.”
Two days after Mr Khan’s comments, Mr Sunak broke his silence on Mr Anderson’s comments, saying “weren’t acceptable, they were wrong”.
Although he had the whip withdrawn, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has left the door open for his return. He also declined to say whether the comments were Islamophobic.
Given that other Tory MPs have made questionable comments over the past week, it has sparked questions over whether the party is institutionally Islamophobic.
A Rise in Hate Crimes
New figures have revealed that the number of Islamophobic incidents has skyrocketed since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) says it saw a 365% increase in reports in October.
IRU CEO Majid Iqbal said: “Since October 2023, IRU has seen a sustained increase in reports to the unit.
“It is clear that this is now developing into a long-term trend and is having a profound impact on those affected by it.”
“IRU calls on the press and politicians to not demonise legitimate Palestinian activism and, by extension, British Muslims, to avoid feeding into the serious societal problem of Islamophobia.”
Meanwhile, Tell Mama said there were 2,010 incidents between October 7 and February 7, more than triple the 600 reported during the same period the year before.
In two out of every three recorded incidents, the victim was a woman.
Tell Mama director Iman Atta said: “Individuals walking down the streets are being targeted, harassed, households have been doodled with graffiti calling people ‘killers’, ‘terrorists’, ‘Hamas sympathisers’.
“Anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia is gendered – it’s misogyny as well as the visibility of that woman being either of an Asian background or wearing visible Muslim attires.”
One person who did not want to be named said they had experienced racist slurs in the street due to their clothing, adding that it only started happening in recent weeks.
The Tip of the Iceberg
Although the Lee Anderson incident has sparked a discussion, Baroness Warsi has stated that he is “the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
The former co-chairwoman of the Conservative Party said:
“Lee Anderson is the tip of the iceberg and for many years as you know, I have been calling out the party to deal with this issue.
“This is an issue that we see at all levels.”
“We saw it on the floor of the House this week with Robert Jenrick, we saw it in a newspaper article with Suella Braverman, we saw it across the water with Liz Truss, we see it with candidates and there’s been articles written by Nick Timothy.
“We’ve seen it at candidate level, at parliamentary level, we’ve seen it at donor level.
“Rishi Sunak knows that this is an issue within our party, he shouldn’t have to be urged and effectively bounced into accepting this form of racism.
“Either he accepts this racism is unacceptable and he deals with it or he says he doesn’t have any leadership on this issue.”
Agreeing with Baroness Warsi’s comments, Puja told DESIblitz:
“It is obviously forgotten or they have chosen to ignore it.
“Remember Boris Johnson’s Telegraph piece that resulted in an accusation of Islamophobia after saying Muslim women wearing burkas “look like letterboxes”.
Haasan asked: “Why would Rishi Sunak, who has suffered racism in his life, not call it out when it is so obvious?”
Other Instances
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) wrote to the Conservative Party, calling for an investigation into “structural Islamophobia” within the party’s ranks.
In a letter to Richard Holden, the MCB welcomed Lee Anderson’s suspension.
On Mr Anderson, the letter stated: “We note that he was only censured for refusing to apologise, not for making the racist remarks in the first place.
“We also note that the whip was withdrawn only after there was widespread condemnation across the board, while the Prime Minister and the rest of the Cabinet remained silent.”
The request for an investigation follows a previous dossier of 300 cases of Islamophobia submitted by the MCB.
Zara Mohammed, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said:
“Our view is that the Islamophobia in the Party is institutional, tolerated by the leadership and seen as acceptable by great swathes of the party membership.”
“Leaders – especially those in politics – have the ability to shape the agenda and a narrative, and play a role in Islamophobic hate crime, which has recently trebled according to Tell Mama.
“These issues cannot – and must not – be ignored.”
The letter highlighted other instances of Islamophobia from senior figures in the past week.
In The Daily Telegraph, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in an article that “Islamists…are in charge” of Britain.
The letter also highlighted Conservative Party donor Sir Paul Marshall endorsing incendiary tweets, including one that stated:
“Civil war is coming. There has never been a country that has remained peaceful with a sizeable Islamic presence.”
Ex-Prime Minister Liz Truss shared a platform with far-right activist Steve Bannon and agreed with Bannon’s assertion that convicted far-right activist and Islamophobe Tommy Robinson was a “hero”.
These instances happened within a week.
In response to such incidents, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of harbouring “extremists in his party”.
He said: “Whether it is Liz Truss staying silent on Tommy Robinson or Suella Braverman’s extreme rhetoric, Rishi Sunak’s weakness means Tory MPs can act with impunity.”
Although the subject has been brought into the spotlight, it is not a new issue.
In 2021, an investigation into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party found there was no institutional racism.
However, some party members shared concerns that Muslims were excluded from the inquiry.
While Lee Anderson admitted that some of his words were “clumsy”, he refused to apologise to Sadiq Khan.
He said: “If you are wrong, apologising is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.
“But when you think you are right you should never apologise because to do so would be a sign of weakness.”
There is the belief that the Conservative Party is institutionally Islamophobic but it seems like it will be an issue that will not get resolved anytime soon.
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