British lawmakers slam government for not tackling rising Islamophobia

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) – Parliamentarians from various political parties, including the ruling Conservatives, have harshly criticized the government for failing to address rising anti-Muslim hatred and ways to tackle such crimes.

In the opening of a parliamentary debate on Thursday, Labour MP Naz Shah said several members of parliament have repeatedly requested a debate on the issue for the past several years, but the calls “have fallen on deaf ears” by the government.

“I assure all those listening to this debate who might not really understand the issue that when Muslim communities speak up on the issue of Islamophobia, we are not looking for preferential treatment. In fact, quite the opposite. We are asking for equal treatment, free of discrimination, injustice and hatred,” Shah stressed.

During the debate, the government was represented by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Felicity Buchan, who insisted that “this government will always stand up for British Muslims.”

“British Muslims are an integral part of our proudly plural, multi-faith (and) multi-ethnic United Kingdom. We have said loud and clear that anti-Muslim hatred has no place in British society, and we will not allow the scourge of religious hatred to manifest itself in any shape or form,” Buchan said.

Shah and some other lawmakers say the government is not treating the communities in an equal and fair manner.

“If, at a time when antisemitism is on a sharp rise, the chancellor can rightfully announce an extra £7 million (about $8.8 million) of funding in the autumn statement to tackle it, why, at a time when Islamophobia is also rising, did he refuse to announce a single penny of extra support for British Muslim communities in the same statement?

“If the government can have a working independent adviser on antisemitism, why, three and a half years after the announcement of an independent adviser on Islamophobia, have they been unable to appoint one or to take the role forward?” he questioned.

The Labour MP later attempted to simplify her point with an analogy.

“Where I come from, you cannot be a bit pregnant—you are either pregnant or you are not. You are either on the side of equality or you are not. The problem for this government is that they choose when they want to be pregnant. They never actually see the pregnancy through to full term, which is why they have never given birth to a serious policy.”

Conservative lawmaker Rehman Chishti said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not “honoring his word” on tackling anti-Muslim hatred. He revealed that he spoke to the prime minister amid one of last year’s leadership contests about engaging with the Muslim community “in an inclusive manner across the board.”

“He told me he is committed to that and we will work together. In life, when I was a Foreign Office minister, when I was an envoy, I as a Member of Parliament, if I give you my word, I honor my word. If you cannot honor your word, don’t make it,” Chishti said while continuing criticisms towards his party.

“Why does the government not have an independent adviser on Islamophobia? Why has that role been left vacant for over one year?” he asked.

— Government refuses term ‘Islamophobia’ as more Muslims looking to leave UK

According to the latest statistics, Labour's Shah said there has been a 600% rise in Islamophobic incidents in the UK, including both verbal and physical abuse, as well as vandalism, “such as the dumping of a pig’s head at a proposed site of a mosque in Barnoldswick.”

While answering questions on behalf of the government, Buchan revealed that hate crimes against Muslims are actually higher.

“Sadly, as we have heard, since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, we have witnessed a substantial increase in incidents of anti-Muslim hatred reported here in Britain.

“Tell Mama has documented a total of more than 1,200 anti-Muslim cases as of November 30th. This represents an unacceptable 7-fold surge compared to the same period in 2022.”

Shah says the recorded incidents are just a snapshot of a picture that is “much uglier than any stats can paint.”

“Some of the brightest most intelligent minds, our best doctors, engineers, bankers, traders, those that can help rebuild Britain, to help transform our economy to support our NHS, those who love Britain and are British are looking to resettle due to fears of what will happen as things get worse.

“This is why I say to the government, Muslim communities are not asking for special treatment… they are simply seeing the government’s own recorded statistics on attacks against Muslims rising each year, they are seeing the government’s inaction and unwillingness to take control.”

The Labour MP then urged ministers to adopt the definition of racism proposed by the all-party parliamentary group on Islamophobia.

“They are seeing things on one hand becoming worse and on the other being patronized and gaslit by a government who won’t even call Islamophobia what it is.”

Buchan reaffirmed the government’s position on not embracing the term “Islamophobia,” saying the definition of the term is not in line with the Equality Act 2010, which defines race in terms of color, nationality, or national or ethnic origins.

“The proposed definition could also unintentionally undermine freedom of speech. The term ‘anti-Muslim hatred’ is a more precise term, which better reflects UK hate crime legislation.

“Free Speech entitles you to express views on religion or ideology, but what you cannot do is to hate or discriminate against someone because of their religion. And that is why we think that the term ‘anti-Muslim hatred’ is a more appropriate term,” she said.