The Guardian View On Tory Islamophobia: Inaction Speaks Volumes
10 May 2019The Guardian, UK
The party's refusal to tackle anti-Muslim prejudice is even more troubling
after the Christchurch killings
A fortnight after the murders of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New
Zealand, the pain is still agonising. The urgency of confronting the violent
threat posed by far-right extremists across the world has been brought home in
the most horrifying way. Facebook's announcement this week that it will ban
white separatist and nationalist content comes too late for the victims of
this attack and others, including that on a Pittsburgh synagogue last year.
Governments including Austria's are investigating links between international
far-right groups and the Christchurch killer.
Last week's announcement by the UK government of additional funding for
security at places of worship was a significant gesture. But it falls far
short of what the Muslim Council of Britain and former Conservative party
chair Baroness Warsi had called for. Reports of a soaring number of
anti-Muslim hate crimes, including the stabbing of a teenager in Surrey by a
white man screaming abuse, provide disturbing confirmation that fear and anger
about Islamophobia – defined by MPs as a prejudice rooted in racism and
targeting "expressions of Muslimness" – are grounded in facts.
Despite the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in the run-up to 2016's EU referendum,
by a man fixated on the threat to the "white race", the current government has
not only failed to do enough to challenge Islamophobia across the country. It
has not even made a serious effort to root out bigots from its own ranks and
somehow remains unabashed in the face of increasingly furious criticism from
Lady Warsi – the undoubted hero of this sorry tale.
This is not to put all the blame for rising intolerance on the Conservatives.
British racism has deep roots, and the surge in Islamophobia in the decades
since 9/11, linked to the "clash of civilisations" rhetoric of the Bush-Blair
years, overlays older prejudices. The media, old as well as new, have played
an important role in creating and disseminating stereotypes, and stirring up
xenophobia and distrust. Coverage of Islamist terrorism and immigration are
key examples, but not the only ones. Greater numbers of Muslims in public life
would enrich our society. The Conservatives are not alone among political
parties in having members with racist views.
But the Tories are in government, and their complacency on this issue is
disgraceful. A recent letter to this newspaper from leading Islamic figures
pointed to "systemic and institutionalised Islamophobia" around the world. Yet
the UK's ruling party refuses to get its own house in order, with 15 suspended
councillors reinstated despite evidence showing they had posted or shared
offensive or racist material, and a lack of transparency about how
disciplinary processes work.
Shocking though this is in the aftermath of Christchurch, it is not at all
surprising when you consider the party's limitless indulgence of former
foreign secretary Boris Johnson, or the 2016 mayoral campaign fronted by Zac
Goldsmith. In December, a complaints panel found Mr Johnson's comparison of
burqa-wearing women to "letterboxes" had been "respectful", while even the
supposed moderniser David Cameron found nothing to criticise in the
dog-whistle tactics employed against Sadiq Khan – tactics highlighted by Lady
Warsi among others at the time.
Such denials and inaction create the overwhelming impression that the
Conservative party thinks the charge of racism will not harm it; that its
voters don't care. As long as such shameful calculations prevail, it is little
wonder that Islamophobia remains unchecked in politics and beyond.
©
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