Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP):...One of the biggest
challenges the hon. Member spoke of was scapegoating and blame,
when dominant groups blame minorities. He highlighted that in some
countries the majority religion is blaming the minority one, and in
another country, where that minority and majority are reversed, the
blame goes in the other direction. He gave the example of Muslims
being blamed in Cambodia. Sadly, we also see the ugly head of
antisemitism appearing on social media and...Request free trial
(Glasgow
North) (SNP):...One of the biggest challenges the hon.
Member spoke of was scapegoating and blame, when dominant groups
blame minorities. He highlighted that in some countries the
majority religion is blaming the minority one, and in another
country, where that minority and majority are reversed, the blame
goes in the other direction. He gave the example of Muslims being
blamed in Cambodia. Sadly, we also see the ugly head of antisemitism appearing on social media and
elsewhere, and that always has to be challenged and called out. As
he said, the virus does not recognise borders or boundaries, or
ethnic groups or religions. We are all human beings—we all carry
the same kind of blood, and we all breathe the same air—and that is
how the virus is transmitted, not because of someone’s particular
ethnic background or religious belief...
The Minister for Asia ():...Let me turn to the impact of the pandemic on
freedom of religion or belief specifically. As we have heard from
the hon. Members for Glasgow North () and for
Strangford, we are aware of the potential for crises to reinforce
already marginalised positions in society, which increases
discrimination, violence and stigma. Like the hon. Gentlemen and my
hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (), I remain deeply concerned about the incidence of
hate speech and conspiracy theories that suggest certain faiths or
beliefs are to blame for the pandemic. I am alarmed by reports of
attacks aimed at Shi’a Muslims and Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, and
by the worrying rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in Sri Lanka; the
rise of antisemitism and other forms of
discrimination in the wake of covid-19 is also deeply
troubling.
In November, we demonstrated our concern about the rise of
another form of discrimination, antisemitism in the wake of
covid-19 in a statement to the UN General Assembly. Building on
that, in the same month, Lord Ahmad attended the ministerial
conference to advance freedom of religion or belief, which was held
in Warsaw, where he reaffirmed our commitment to this issue,
particularly during the pandemic...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
|
