Thursday, August 08, 2024
Those Islamophobic Tories
As the Independent reports, Jenrick sparked outrage after saying people shouting “Allahu Akbar” on London streets “should be arrested immediately”.
As the paper points out “Allahu Akbar” is an Arabic phrase meaning “God is greater” or “God is greatest” which is commonly used in prayer and as a declaration of faith:
Asked whether he believes the UK has a system of “two-tier policing”, Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “I have been very critical of the police in the past, particularly around the attitude of some police forces to the protests that we saw since 7 October.
“I thought it was quite wrong that somebody could shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ on the streets of London and not be immediately arrested. Or project genocidal chants onto Big Ben and that person not be immediately arrested. That attitude is wrong and I’ll always call out the police.”
The reaction to this statement has been predictable and justifiable:
The Muslim Association of Britain strongly condemned Mr Jenrick’s comments.
“This is pure unadulterated Islamophobia from Robert Jenrick and is precisely what has been driving these Islamophobic far-right extremists,” a statement said on X. “The media and politicians need to be held to account for their role in the terror that has been unleashed on the streets of Britain.”
The Muslim Council said the comments showed “institutional Islamophobia is alive and well in the Conservative Party”.
“As a prospective leader, Mr Jenrick should be showing leadership, reassuring our communities when fear is palpable,” a spokesperson said. “He should apologise, fully retract his comments, and speak to ordinary Muslims to understand why his remarks are so outrageous. Rather than inflaming tensions, he should focus on ways to bring communities together.”
Labour’s Naz Shah was among the MPs demanding the former minister apologise.
Posting on social media, she said: “This is complete ignorance and textbook Islamophobia from Robert Jenrick. It literally equates every Muslim in the world with extremism.
“Allah Hu Akbar means ‘god is Great’. It’s a basic Islamic saying that every Muslim in the world says in prayer. It is significantly the opening line of the call to prayer and the opening phrase of every prayer.
“Billions of us Muslims use it every day as part of our faith within our prayers. It is a common phrase like Christians would say ‘Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour’.
“Imagine in this climate, either being that ignorant or deliberately trying to stigmatise all Muslims. He should apologise and speak to Muslim communities and learn more about our faith.”
We knew that the Tory party had a problem with Islamophobia but for a prospective leader to be so open and obvious about it is shocking and shows how far down this slippery slope the Tories have gone.
