Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Tories whitewash Islamophobia in their party
The Guardian says a long-awaited review into Islamophobia within the Conservatives has been condemned as a whitewash by Muslim Tories despite it including criticism of the language used by Boris Johnson and the mayoral campaign run by Zac Goldsmith for insensitivity.
The paper quotes Lady Warsi, the party’s former chair who first demanded an inquiry into anti-Muslim sentiment within its ranks, who disagrees with the review’s conclusion that there was no evidence of institutional racism, saying there were issues “from the top ... to the bottom” of the party:
The report found that anti-Muslim sentiment was still present at local association and individual levels, but claims of “institutional racism” were not borne out by evidence.
Warsi said that the party’s “processes, attitudes and behaviour” were at fault from its leadership to its grassroots. “The report concludes that from the top – from the prime minister at one level – to local associations at the bottom, there is an attitude issue and a problem and a behaviour issue in terms of Islamophobia,” she told Sky News.
“So on each of those counts it satisfies the definition of institutional racism ... the way I see it, if it looks like institutional racism, feels like institutional racism, fits the definition of institutional racism, then I’m afraid it is institutional racism.”
Sajjad Karim, who was a Tory MEP for 12 years and chaired the European parliament’s working group on Islamophobia, said the report had failed to identify endemic party prejudice aimed at Muslims.
“The manner in which this inquiry has been conducted means it is nothing but an attempt to whitewash deep-rooted issues out of sight.
“It is difficult to identify any basis upon which this has been a serious attempt to address credible and serious matters or deliver on Boris Johnson’s leadership election pledge.
“If anything it acts as an illustration of an attitude inclined to view Islamophobia as an irritant best pushed to one side, when not being utilised in promoting culture wars, rather than as a serious, systemic issue which needs to be rooted out.”
Another senior Muslim Tory said: “This report is a sad reflection of how little the party cares about inclusivity.”
In a pointed message to Johnson, the review said the leadership of the party “ought to set a good example for appropriate behaviours and language”.
The report called on the Tories to introduce sweeping changes to the complaints process, and to publish an action plan within six weeks to set out how it would respond, followed by a six-month progress report and a one-year review carried out by an appropriate body.
The question though is whether those recommendations will be implemented and if they will be sufficient to tackle the problems at grassroots level within the Tory party.
The paper quotes Lady Warsi, the party’s former chair who first demanded an inquiry into anti-Muslim sentiment within its ranks, who disagrees with the review’s conclusion that there was no evidence of institutional racism, saying there were issues “from the top ... to the bottom” of the party:
The report found that anti-Muslim sentiment was still present at local association and individual levels, but claims of “institutional racism” were not borne out by evidence.
Warsi said that the party’s “processes, attitudes and behaviour” were at fault from its leadership to its grassroots. “The report concludes that from the top – from the prime minister at one level – to local associations at the bottom, there is an attitude issue and a problem and a behaviour issue in terms of Islamophobia,” she told Sky News.
“So on each of those counts it satisfies the definition of institutional racism ... the way I see it, if it looks like institutional racism, feels like institutional racism, fits the definition of institutional racism, then I’m afraid it is institutional racism.”
Sajjad Karim, who was a Tory MEP for 12 years and chaired the European parliament’s working group on Islamophobia, said the report had failed to identify endemic party prejudice aimed at Muslims.
“The manner in which this inquiry has been conducted means it is nothing but an attempt to whitewash deep-rooted issues out of sight.
“It is difficult to identify any basis upon which this has been a serious attempt to address credible and serious matters or deliver on Boris Johnson’s leadership election pledge.
“If anything it acts as an illustration of an attitude inclined to view Islamophobia as an irritant best pushed to one side, when not being utilised in promoting culture wars, rather than as a serious, systemic issue which needs to be rooted out.”
Another senior Muslim Tory said: “This report is a sad reflection of how little the party cares about inclusivity.”
In a pointed message to Johnson, the review said the leadership of the party “ought to set a good example for appropriate behaviours and language”.
The report called on the Tories to introduce sweeping changes to the complaints process, and to publish an action plan within six weeks to set out how it would respond, followed by a six-month progress report and a one-year review carried out by an appropriate body.
The question though is whether those recommendations will be implemented and if they will be sufficient to tackle the problems at grassroots level within the Tory party.
