Afzal Khan (Manchester, Gorton) (Lab) I beg to move, That this
House has considered Islamophobia Awareness Month. It is a pleasure
to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. When I go home and look
at my grandchildren, I see limitless potential that deserves to
flourish and thrive, yet I find it heartbreaking that they must
grow up in a world where racism is still present—they will be
subject to racism purely because of their faith—and that I, as
their...Request free trial
(Manchester, Gorton) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Islamophobia Awareness Month.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd.
When I go home and look at my grandchildren, I see limitless
potential that deserves to flourish and thrive, yet I find it
heartbreaking that they must grow up in a world where racism is
still present—they will be subject to racism purely because of
their faith—and that I, as their grandfather, must stand up to
talk about the rampant Islamophobia in our midst. This month is
an opportunity for us all to tackle that insidious hatred, which
manifests itself in hate crime, discrimination and loss of
opportunity.
As I look around the Chamber, I am touched by the support of my
hon. Friends from all parts of the House who have committed to
rooting out racism, whichever form it takes. I hosted a drop-in
event in collaboration with the Muslim Council of Britain and
Amnesty International last week, and it was brilliant to see the
cross-party support. I thank the many hon. Members present today
for attending.
(Sheffield Central)
(Lab)
The information shared with us by the Muslim Council of Britain
last week was very powerful indeed, and reflects the experience
that many of us have heard about from our Muslim constituents.
Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to take
responsibility for engaging effectively with the MCB to tackle
the issue?
Yes, I agree, and I will be making that point.
I had the privilege of visiting Europe’s first eco-mosque in
Cambridge—a real trailblazer in the community. It highlights how
effective the British Muslim community has been in tackling the
climate crisis with a positive and inspiring message. I extend an
invitation to the Minister. I cannot promise that a visit will be
as thrilling as Peppa Pig World, but it is worth a visit.
(Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. Does he agree
that there is more to be done to ensure that our children grow
together in harmony, celebrating the differences that we share,
which make us stronger when added to the similarities? That makes
us communities. Furthermore, does he believe that one way to
achieve that is to facilitate cross-community events that focus
on young people of different backgrounds coming together to learn
more, to understand more and, inevitably, to accept more about
each other, so that we are better together?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I could not have
put it better myself.
For 2.7 million Muslims, Islamophobia has distressing and
real-life implications. A recent example is the far right
peddling the narrative during the pandemic that British Muslims
were super-spreaders of covid simply by practising their faith.
As a result, Muslim communities suffered a shocking 40% increase
in online Islamophobia during this period, according to Tell
MAMA. The online safety Bill is an opportunity for the Government
to better regulate online content, including harmful and racist
material.
(Hornsey and Wood Green)
(Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend for accepting my intervention, and for all
his work—and indeed that of other Members—on this important issue
in the House. Does he agree that the issue is not just about
online abuse, but that sports can play a role? I know he will go
on to this topic, but with the Ashes ahead of us, surely now is
the time to tackle Islamophobia in cricket, once and for all.
I thank my hon. Friend. Again, that is a point I will touch
on.
I have no doubt that those of us who participate in this debate
will be on the receiving end of further abuse. Social media
platforms have a moral responsibility and a duty to protect their
users. Here, a definition of Islamophobia will help establish a
mechanism for accountability and improved regulation. I will
return to the definition in a moment, but can the Minister
outline what measures will be introduced by the Government to
keep users safe online, and what steps are being taken to tackle
far-right activity?
It would be a mistake, however, to see this as merely an online
phenomenon. The Government’s own figures reveal, once again, that
Muslims have been victim to the highest proportion of all hate
crimes committed this past year. My hon. Friend the Member for
Oxford East () and I have written to the
Conservative party chair over the surge in hate crimes against
Muslims following the Liverpool attack. Time and again, we see
the conflation of Islam and terrorism, which is wrong and
perpetuates a harmful stereotype of Muslims.
Last week, Azeem Rafiq’s powerful and moving testimony about his
experience in cricket shone a light on how easily racism and
Islamophobia can go unchecked and be simply dismissed as
“banter”. A series of attacks on mosques, including in Manchester
and east London, demand serious action by the Government. Most
recently, a man was convicted of terrorism offences after
planning an attack on a mosque in Scotland. Will the Minister
outline what steps are being taken to better safeguard places of
worship?
Crucially, we must remember that these are not isolated
incidents. Home Office data supports this, showing that referrals
to Prevent for extreme right-wing ideology have increased
exponentially. Many of my parliamentary colleagues and I have
pushed for an independent review of the Prevent strategy for
several years. A coalition of more than 450 Muslim organisations
has boycotted the Government’s review of Prevent in protest at
the appointment of William Shawcross as its chair. Shawcross has
openly expressed a hostile view of Islam and Muslims, including
suggesting that—I quote—“Islamic fascism” was the biggest problem
facing our society.
I want to put four questions to the Minister today. Will she
outline why the Government appointed someone with Islamophobic
views? Will she respond to the overwhelming discontent over
Shawcross’s appointment? Will she explain why the Government
refuses to engage with the MCB, the largest Muslim organisation
in the UK? Who sits on the Government’s anti-Muslim hatred
working group, and has she ever met the group?
The appointment of William Shawcross is just a symptom of
something that must be addressed in this debate: the Conservative
party’s Islamophobia crisis. In 2018, we held a general debate on
Islamophobia, in which I delivered the Labour party’s position.
Two years later, no meaningful progress has been made and the
Government have failed to take any action on this issue.
(Nottingham East) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way and for securing this
important debate. Does he agree that the Prime Minister likening
Muslim women to letterboxes and bank robbers directly fuels
Islamophobia—I have seen it myself, as a former hate crime
worker—and that apologising for offence caused is not good
enough? The Prime Minister must apologise for what he said and,
more importantly, engage with the all-party parliamentary group
on British Muslims and take some real action, starting with
adopting the definition for Islamophobia.
I thank my hon. Friend, and I agree. The APPG on British Muslims
has worked tirelessly to create the definition of Islamophobia,
which has the confidence of more than 800 organisations and has
been adopted by Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the
SNP, the Green party and even the Scottish Conservatives, as well
as the Mayors of London and Greater Manchester and hundreds of
councils across the country. I applaud the aforementioned for
taking that positive step.
Defining and naming a problem is the first step in rooting it
out, but it seems that the Government cannot even bring
themselves to use the term Islamophobia. How do they intend to
deal with a problem that they cannot even name? In fact, I
challenge the Minister to use the term Islamophobia today.
The truth is that the Conservative party has repeatedly shown it
is in denial about this problem through its failure to accept the
definition proposed by the APPG, its failure to conduct a truly
independent investigation and its failure to appoint Government
advisers on the issue. What concerns me is that the Tory party
has an institutional problem. Frankly, it does not care about
Islamophobia.
The Singh review revealed institutional failings in how the
Conservative party handled Islamophobia complaints. However, the
review failed to engage with any Conservative Muslim
parliamentarians and, once again, it did not even acknowledge or
mention the term Islamophobia. Given that the definition has such
widespread community support, can I ask the Minister why the
Government insist on reinventing the wheel?
All of this goes right to the top. We all remember the Prime
Minister’s shocking comment about Muslim women and letterboxes,
but what is less well known is the fact that his comment directly
resulted in a 375% rise in hate crime against Muslims. To add
insult to injury, the Prime Minister continues to ignore the
issue. During last year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month, I wrote
to the Prime Minister to urge him to take action and to meet with
me and key Muslim organisations. More than a year later, I am
still waiting for a reply. I raised the matter in the Chamber
earlier this month, and Mr Speaker and I both agreed that it is
totally unacceptable for the Prime Minister to simply ignore
letters from Members, no matter the subject. The Muslim community
in our country deserves better: it deserves an explanation and,
frankly, an apology.
The theme of this year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month is “Time
for change”, and it is time for change. It is time the Government
changed their approach towards Islamophobia and tackled it head
on. Whether we look at evidence from the McGregor-Smith review,
the Lawrence review or the Lammy review, we are confronted with
the unavoidable fact that Islamophobia has damaging consequences
on the life chances and equality of Muslims across the UK.
(Vauxhall)
(Lab/Co-op)
I thank my hon. Friend for making such an excellent speech on
this really important issue, which affects so many of my
constituents in Vauxhall. On his point about the Muslim community
being affected, he will know that Muslims have suffered
disproportionately throughout the covid pandemic, and yet they
were the ones helping at mosques. Does he agree that it is really
important that we have leadership from the top, including that
apology from the Prime Minister?
I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I agree—that is
exactly what we need. Perhaps, at the end, that is what I will
ask as well.
At the heart of the APPG’s inquiry into a working definition of
Islamophobia was an attempt to do something about the nature,
scale and impact of Islamophobia. As political representatives,
we have a responsibility to listen to the voices of all in our
communities and strive to serve them to the best of our
abilities. Representing British Muslims requires more than just
lip service: it requires commitment, leadership and, most
importantly, action.
14:44:00
(Bury North) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I
know the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (), and I would consider him a
friend. We speak regularly. I am disappointed that a debate on a
very important subject has turned into the normal political
attack on the Conservative party. To hear the sanctimony of an
organisation that was investigated by the Equality and Human
Rights Commission for prejudice and antisemitism in lecturing
this party on prejudice is something.
I would like to talk about the practical—[Interruption.]
(in the Chair)
Order. I appreciate that people feel very passionately about this
matter, but we must keep order in the Chamber.
Thank you, Mr Dowd. We can talk about the definition of
prejudice, but it is within ourselves. The hon. Member for
Manchester, Gorton knows two people who work for me; one is
certainly my best friend. I am a Conservative Back-Bench MP who
does not see a difference in human beings because of their
religion, faith or anything. I see the decency in people and that
is what motivates me in politics. It is what motivates Shahbaz
and Khalid. At least two Members opposite know those two people
who have given years of service to my area and its community. To
be tarred with what has just been said—the hon. Member for
Manchester, Gorton knows it is not correct.
I fight every day in my constituency to ensure that my Muslim
constituents have the best possible representation. When we talk
about Islamophobia, I would like Labour MPs to support me in
practical policies to help with the various issues that affect
the Muslim community. There are lots of important issues, but I
will talk about just one. In my seat and the seats of the hon.
Members for Bolton South East () and for Manchester, Gorton,
just about every Muslim family is touched by a taxi driver who
works there—families who are absolutely dependent on that income.
When I contact the hon. Members for Manchester, Gorton and for
Bolton South and say, “Let’s set up an APPG for taxi driving in
Greater Manchester,” and they say, “No, we can’t do that for
political reasons,” it is therefore extremely disappointing. We
could actually put in place practical policies—
I have just made a 10-minute speech outlining the different
problems that the Muslim community has been facing. The issue is
not that the hon. Gentleman has two employees who are Muslim or
that he has friends who are Muslim; the issue is that we have a
Government who are failing to tackle this problem and the hon.
Gentleman is a Member of that Government and needs to tackle the
problem as well.
The issue is that Members of Parliament such as myself and my
hon. Friends the Members for Peterborough (), for Burnley (), for Dewsbury () and for Wycombe (Mr Baker)
spend our days going out there and doing our very best to support
the Muslim community in every possible way. The hon. Member for
Manchester, Gorton has just made a generalised statement trying
to slur every Conservative MP with a prejudice that is not
correct.
The Minister for Equalities ()
Does my hon. Friend agree that on such a sensitive subject such
as this, the highly partisan nature in which the debate has been
opened, if watched by our Muslim constituents, will look not like
people trying to tackle anti-Muslim hatred, but as if they, as a
community, are being used as a political football for political
goals?
I thank my hon. Friend for that point. I could mention all sorts
of policies here, whether it is support for the self-employed,
for taxi drivers or for anybody else in my constituency. I
believe I should be working with other MPs in Greater Manchester
for the greater good to support all our Muslim constituents
through specific policies that address the issues that are at the
heart of the challenges they face.
When you represent people who you know; when you have been part
of a community; when you do everything you possibly can to
represent people, to be their voice in Parliament and to address
the issues—what more do Opposition Members expect? Prejudice is
an issue that is addressed through the individual and through all
of us behaving in a way where we welcome and take every
opportunity to say that we value all our communities, and we
especially value our Muslim community. We value every single
person. Prejudice and racism are not addressed by a definition.
They are addressed by an individual and by all of us coming
together to make sure that people are not judged by anything
other than their personality, their goodness, and their ability
and desire to influence their community for the better.
I can tell everybody in this Chamber and elsewhere that my
interaction with my communities is simply for that purpose. I am
a politician who wants to make change and who wants to ensure
that people are treated in an equal fashion. This Government’s
levelling-up agenda is about equality of opportunity. Every
single policy that we put in place is to ensure that that is the
case and that people are not discriminated against on the basis
of their background.
14:50:00
(Streatham) (Lab)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton
() on securing this debate and on
recently raising a point of order to state that the Prime
Minister had not actually addressed his letter about Islamophobia
Awareness Month last year and to urge him to better safeguard the
lives of British Muslims. Sadly, that Government inaction comes
as no surprise to those of us who continually raise issues of
this nature. So I express my full solidarity with Muslim Members
right across this House in their ongoing fight against
Islamophobia.
Unfortunately, many of us are all too familiar with the vile
torrent of abuse that MPs are subjected to, whether it be racist,
sexist or misogynist, but we have some reassurance in knowing
that society generally recognises the severity of these types of
abuse. But for those who experience Islamophobic abuse, there is
a feeling that the abuse they receive is not taken seriously.
Islamophobia is relegated to the very bottom, despite British
Muslims being on the sharp end of some of the worst racism. And
it is no surprise that there is a growing sentiment of
anti-Muslim hate, because the current party of Government have
such a disgraceful track record on Islamophobia, as highlighted
by the independent investigation into discrimination in the
Conservative party.
(Dewsbury) (Con)
I obviously have to agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Bury
North () that there is a certain amount
of partisanship involved in this debate. In that vein, what does
the hon. Lady think about the quote included in the report
entitled “Islamophobia and the Muslim Experience” that 55% of
Muslim respondents do not
“trust the leadership of the Labour Party to tackle Islamophobia
effectively”?
I believe that we should attack Islamophobia wherever we find it,
and where the Government have failed they should admit to that.
[Interruption.] And where the Government have failed—
(in the Chair)
Order. Right—I will give this warning once more. I do not want
shouting across the Chamber; this is a very passionate subject,
but I ask Members to stop shouting and I will name people if they
do not stop. I hope that is clear.
If Government Members listen to what Labour Members are saying,
they will realise that no one is disputing that there is
Islamophobia in all parts of society. We are calling on the
Government to take action in their own party and right across
society; that is all we are doing.
I also want to point out that, as far as I am concerned, the
Prevent strategy has contributed to the continuing prevalence of
Islamophobia. That policy has embedded infrastructure of
surveillance in Muslim communities, has increased police
stop-and-search powers and has been inherently Islamophobic in
its theoretical underpinnings. Although I initially welcomed the
Government’s review of Prevent, they have now delayed the
publishing of that review as part of the Counter-Terrorism and
Sentencing Act 2021. And to add insult to injury, the Government
appointed William Shawcross to head the supposedly independent
review, despite, as we have heard, his questionable actions as
head of the Charity Commission in disproportionately putting
Muslim charities under investigation.
Finally, I remind Members that 45% of religious hate crimes
recorded by the police in 2020-21 were Islamophobic. That is an
estimated 42,000 incidents of religiously motivated hate crime
per year, which is approximately six times the number of recorded
offences. And perhaps it is a reflection of how much Islamophobia
permeates our entire society that a professional sportsperson had
to share his painful experiences of being discriminated against
during his time as a cricketer. Since Azeem
Rafiq provided evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and
Sport Committee this month, other professional cricketers have
shared their stories of being abused due to their ethnicity or
religion, and an independent commission looking into racism and
discrimination in cricket has now been inundated with
responses.
All of that is sufficient to show that the Government need to
take action now. I urge the Government to give a comprehensive
response to the letter by my hon. Friend the Member for
Manchester, Gorton; to update Members on Government progress in
defining anti-Muslim hatred; to listen to the needs of the
community when it comes to the impact of the Government’s
strategy; and to ensure that there are proper safeguards for
British Muslims against further abuse and discrimination. That is
all we are asking for.
14:55:00
(Peterborough) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I
congratulate the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton () on securing this debate. He
made a powerful speech and a lot of good points, but may I
respectfully say that I think this was a missed opportunity? We
have worked together on Muslim burials, on Kashmir, on Muslims
and their efforts during covid, and on the all-party
parliamentary group on British Muslims, so to come here and
attack the Conservative party in the way that he has is a really
missed opportunity. Making this a partisan thing does his
argument no favours whatsoever.
I introduced a debate in this place on Islamophobia some time
ago, and I talked about how, during the 2019 by-election in
Peterborough, I came across a gentleman called Amir Suleman, who
asked my opinion on the all-party group’s definition of
Islamophobia. I was rather embarrassed to say, at the time, that
I did not really understand or know a lot about it, but I
promised that I would get back to the gentleman in question and
would campaign and stand with him. I stand here two years later
as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British
Muslims.
I work incredibly hard, each and every day, representing my
Muslim constituents and trying to promote the positive benefits
that Muslims contribute in my city each and every day, whether
during covid, or through business, society or politics. In the
Conservative party we have many Muslim councillors. We have two
Muslim councillors in our city cabinet, until recently we had a
Muslim councillor who was Mayor of the city, and we also have
many Muslim councillors there from the Labour party. We work
together, and that is the spirit in which we should be coming
together to tackle Islamophobia and promote the positive
contribution that Muslims make. We do that in Peterborough; it is
such a shame that we cannot do it in this place.
My hon. Friend mentioned that positive contribution. Does he
agree that Muslim charities and mosques, especially in my
constituency of Dewsbury, have been pivotal in helping the needy
and vulnerable during the pandemic, while also helping to promote
social cohesion between communities?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is very humbling to see
Muslim communities in my city help not only people in their own
community, but those from communities in my city. They make me
proud of Peterborough. It did not matter what background people
were from, whether Muslim, Christian or eastern European. In
Peterborough, we come in different shapes and sizes. We come from
different cultures, different religions and different
backgrounds, but we stood together as one city. I cannot think of
a better example to promote the message of what a positive
contribution Muslims made than the one that my hon. Friend gave,
or how we all came together as one city.
We have also had success resulting from that in tackling
Islamophobia. We have had Muslim councillors elected by huge
majorities in wards where many Muslims do not live. People are
not seeing this as a Muslim issue; they are seeing it in a
completely and utterly colour-blind way. I urge all Members to
come to Peterborough and see how a city working together actually
works.
We have lots of work to do in this House, and we should be doing
it cross-party. We should be tackling the hatred that I sometimes
see across the country. Violence, attacks—these are despicable
things that need to be stamped out. We also need to see the
perhaps more subtle elements of Islamophobia stamped out. I
remember the investigation by The Sun in January 2018 that showed
that people with typically English-sounding names were given
lower quotes than those with typically Muslim-sounding names. We
can work together on this. I hope that the rest of the speeches
by Opposition Members in this debate highlight that, and say how
we can all work together to tackle Islamophobia.
14:58:00
(Tooting) (Lab)
Like many other speakers today, I have my scars. From being
attacked by a racist gang in the park with dogs, as me and my
brother ran away, having our clothes ripped from us, scared; to
the audible gasps of, “Why the hell would you choose to be a
Muslim?”, my experiences are as real as they are painful. With a
Polish mother and a Pakistani father, and proudly British, I feel
fortunate to have grown up immersed in many cultures. I have,
sadly, experienced overt racism and bigotry; unfortunately, I
have also been where people speak in perceived safety, not
realising that I am a Muslim.
When I was studying medicine at Cambridge, a senior surgeon spoke
openly about terrorism and Islam. When I asked him kindly to
stop, he was shocked. When I stated that I was a Muslim, he asked
where I was from and proceeded to tell me that half my family
were eastern European cleaners and the other half were
terrorists, and that I should go and tell my family to stop
killing people.
A taxi driver once told me, 20 minutes into a cab journey, that
he would never in his life allow a Muslim into his taxicab. He
told me that Muslims were taking over the world, that he had
absolutely no desire to meet one, and that he would not allow his
daughter to go and study at a university where someone wore a
hijab. I told him to stop the car, that he had met a Muslim and
that I would continue my journey on foot.
My mum, who is not a Muslim but married one and had two children
who chose to be Muslim, is Polish and has blonde hair and green
eyes. She has been spat at in the street, called dirty for
walking with her children and, while we were growing up, had
people shouting at her on the tube, telling her she had married a
dirty—I will not name the name, because I do not want to give it
a place in this place.
Many people tell me I should have used getting married as the
opportunity to drop the Khan and call myself Rosie Allin in a bid
to be accepted, and that I should hide all traces of Islam from
my daughters’ names, so that they may have “an easier life.”
Well, fear will not make me drop my name or my faith, and fear
will never stop me fighting against Islamophobia. In this place
we have a platform, but millions of people do not. We owe it to
them to speak out, and to fight for change for our community and
for our children.
15:01:00
(Burnley) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I
congratulate the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton () on securing the debate. My
hon. Friend the Member for Hyndburn (), who is my constituency
neighbour, wanted to be here today, but unfortunately cannot
attend.
When we have these discussions in this House, they present an
opportunity for us to shine a light on an issue and to encourage
all our constituents who have experiences like those of the hon.
Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) to talk about them, and to
raise them with us as Members of Parliament, so that we can have
a much better informed debate, and to raise them with the police.
Such discussions give them confidence that they do not have to
suffer in silence or accept that kind of behaviour.
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that as well as accepting the
passionate speech given by my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting
(Dr Allin-Khan) we also need to challenge ourselves, whenever and
wherever we experience such behaviour? There are some fantastic
videos of people on tubes and trams challenging people and
calling them out. We all need to do that, in all our
organisations, wherever we see this discrimination.
The hon. Member is absolutely right. If we want to build a better
society and better communities, then we all have a part to play.
If we can do one thing in this House, it is to give confidence
not just to victims and potential victims but to everyone, so
that if they see intolerance or discrimination they have the
confidence to call it out and stand up for what is right.
It is very sad that in recent years we have seen an increase in
Islamophobia and antisemitism. The words that we use here are
incredibly impactful. When I was first elected in 2019, one of
the first organisations to reach out to me was Tell MAMA. I had
the privilege of meeting Iman Atta, the director of Tell MAMA,
who spoke to me at length and incredibly powerfully about the
experience of Muslims across the country, but also in my
constituency. I have been fortunate to meet representatives from
local organisations in Burnley, such as Olive High School, an
independent Islamic school for girls. What all this showed me is
that when we work together we achieve far more.
Last Friday, we held a local memorial service for . I laid a wreath, alongside our
council leader, who was representing the local imam, and , who is the first Muslim peer
for Burnley, both of whom I consider to be friends. It sent a
powerful and moving message to constituents in Burnley and people
across the country that the more we can work together, the
better.
Islamophobia is a scourge on society, and I hope that what we do
in this place and the words that we use help people realise that
we can find a better way of discussing things and finding
solutions. Sometimes, we need to take the politics out of it. If
we take the politics out of it, we can work cross-party, as we
all do locally in our constituencies. The words that we use in
the Chamber are very different from how we engage in our
societies and communities. If we take a little bit more of that
engagement and community focus here, we will find a much better
solution.
15:05:00
(Bolton South East)
(Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am
grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton
() for securing the debate during
Islamophobia Awareness Month.
I want to set something straight on the record. Bolton South East
does not need the help of other MPs to deal with the issues of
taxi drivers. I deal with them, meet them regularly and do not
need to set up an APPG for them. I am interested to know why no
Conservative MP in Greater Manchester ever wants to join an APPG
on Greater Manchester, which is much wider. No Conservative MPs
will join that. That was rather a silly comment from the hon.
Member for Bury North () in making that point. To
repeat, my taxi drivers do not need any help from anyone
else.
Returning to the topic of the day, I want to talk about
international Islamophobia. In Myanmar, decades of hate speech
and persecution culminated in 2017 with more than 700,000
predominantly Muslim Rohingya people having to flee to
neighbouring Bangladesh after a vicious campaign of ethnic
cleansing; and our Government did nothing about it. In China,
close to a million Uyghur Muslims are believed to be interned in
so-called re-education camps. There, too, Islamophobia is rife
across the country and our Government have done nothing about
it.
In India, with every passing year, Islamophobia has become more
normalised and mainstream. Narendra Modi was a member of the RSS,
a neo-Nazi group, and his Bharatiya Janata party is making India
into an authoritarian, Hindu national state. Regular, unprovoked
attacks on Muslims by Hindu mobs have become routine in India,
along with the destruction of mosques and the taking away of
Muslims’ human rights.
Last month, the BBC reported that a video had gone viral on
social media showing a terrified girl clinging to her Muslim
father as Hindu mobs assaulted him. That is not a one-off. That
kind of violence is overwhelming. I have never heard a word from
the Foreign Office or Government Ministers on that issue. When
they talk about wanting to deal with Islamophobia, I would like
to hear from the Government.
In Europe, Muslims are being made the other. Constantly in France
and other countries, every time there is a general election, they
bring up the subject of Muslims, take women’s veils and bring in
new laws that say that Muslims are forming a counter-society.
Again, we hear nothing in this country from the Foreign Office. I
would like our Government to do something about that.
15:07:00
(Wycombe) (Con)
I refer to my unremunerated chairmanship of the advisory board of
Conservatives Against Racism For Equality. I begin by saying how
proud I am to have the support of thousands of British Muslims in
Wycombe, including Conservative councillors, who have been mayors
of High Wycombe and chairs of the county council. I am incredibly
proud of British Muslims in Wycombe.
The hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton () and I put out a photo of us
standing together against Islamophobia. Of course, as soon as I
put that on social media, it was viciously trolled by
Islamophobes. I am afraid that happens time and again, every time
that I stand up for my British Muslim constituents. That is not
going to stop me standing up for them and against
Islamophobia.
I want to say to those Islamophobic trolls that it is
categorically wrong to condemn innocent people collectively for
the crimes of others, because sometimes that is what is done
overwhelmingly. I am Christian and, with humility, recognise that
over the course of 2,000 years, terrible things have been done in
the name of Christianity. People have been tortured to death,
murdered and persecuted, even today. We know from the campaign
around LGBT conversion therapy that Christians still persecute
others.
That does not mean that I am responsible for it, and I would not
accept anyone else holding me responsible for it. It would be
wrong and unjust of them to do so. All I am asking for is that
British Muslims enjoy the same treatment: that they be judged on
the content of their own character and behaviour. I am very proud
of the contribution that British Muslims make to our society.
I turn briefly to the APPG’s definition of Islamophobia. I
understand that the Government object to the use of the word
“racism” because racism refers to race, not religion, and there
therefore might be a conflict with the Equality Act 2010. I can
understand that. The meaning of words does matter, and it is
important that we get the definition right, but I say to my hon.
Friend the Minister that we have a real problem with Islamophobia
or anti-Muslim hatred—whatever term we want to use—and we need to
do something about it. Notwithstanding where some of the debate
has been, I ask the Minister to meet the APPG officers and see
whether we can find some way to work through the definition and
pick up something that the Government can adopt. Finally, I ask
her to engage with the MCB. I think it has some new leadership
that I suspect she would very much approve of.
15:10:00
(Newport West) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I am
delighted to have the opportunity to speak in this important
debate, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester,
Gorton () for securing it.
Today we have the opportunity to address and acknowledge
Islamophobia Awareness Month and to reaffirm our collective
determination to challenge and eradicate hate speech and
discrimination, but we are also here to celebrate and champion
the many thriving Muslim communities in all parts of the country.
Newport West is one of the most diverse communities in Wales—a
fact that I am very proud of—and its greatest strength is its
diversity. From my visits to the Jamia Mosque on Commercial Road,
the Islamic Society of Wales and the Newport Central Mosque in
Stow Hill, which is at the heart of our city, I know the
contribution that they have made to our local community. It is so
important to acknowledge the key role that our Muslim communities
have played in the last 18 months. From looking out for
neighbours to providing food and support to people of all faiths
and none, Newport’s Muslim community has shown that it cares, has
a big heart and is committed to bringing our communities
together. I am very grateful for the warm welcome that I have
always received at our local mosques, and for the steadfast
support provided to me personally.
Islamophobia is not just verbal or physical abuse; it is
structural. In many ways, it is entrenched in our society, so we
parliamentarians have a real responsibility to shed light on the
problem and tackle it head-on. One of my team here in this place,
Adam Jogee, is the first Muslim Mayor of Haringey. I have heard
from Adam, who I know is watching the debate, about some of the
experiences that he has had to face as a Muslim. The abuse he has
had ranges from having his faith questioned on social media to
being called “Jihadi Jogee”.
I appreciate that social media has been mentioned a lot, but
there are also concerns about headlines in newspapers and print
media. Does the hon. Lady agree that the print media need to take
more responsibility for how they report Muslims in society?
I agree 100% and I thank the hon. Member for his
intervention.
It is completely unacceptable that abuse takes place on social
media and that it is often elected representatives who engage in
it. There are tangible things that the Minister can do, and I
would be grateful if she outlined precisely how the Government
plan to lead by example in the fight against Islamophobia. Has
she met the excellent, new and young secretary general of the
Muslim Council of Britain? If so, when did they last speak?
Lastly, I would be grateful for an update on the discussions with
the devolved Administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland about the fight against Islamophobia. There are vibrant
and thriving Muslim communities in all four countries of the UK,
and the Government must stand up for all of them.
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton for his
leadership and for calling this important debate. I thank all
Muslim colleagues in this House and the other place for their
perseverance. To the Muslim community in Newport West, in south
Wales and across the UK, I say this: please be assured that I
stand with you against hate, now and always.
15:13:00
(Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I
congratulate the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton () on securing this important
debate.
It is ironic that when we consider the word “Islamophobia”, we
think about the word “Islam”. “Islam” means “peace”. “Salaam
alaikum” means “peace be unto you”, and “Alaikum salaam”—the
reply—means “unto you be peace”. It is deeply ironic that, as the
hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) said, we have the evil of
Islamophobia out there. I, too, have seen some very ugly stuff
that I never want to see again. Islamophobia exists.
In the short time available, I want to tell an anecdote. As a
student, I was fishing about for a subject to make up my degree,
and one of the subjects I chose, by great good fortune, was the
history of Islam and Islamic culture. That was one of the best
things that I ever did, because I learned everything about the
life of the Prophet. I learned about the Hegira in 622. I learned
about the Umayyads, the Abbasids, the hadith literature—I was
talking to the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton about this
earlier today—the sunnah of the Prophet, and so on. In doing so,
we met Muslims. They came to lectures. We worked with them. We
ate with them and learned about food. It is a very simple thing,
but when you know somebody and you like them, it is hard to hate
them. I was very fortunate with my education. I think that we can
build into education in the future a greater understanding of
Islam, Judaism and other religions, which will make for a more
tolerant society.
One of the things that came out of my lectures was the expression
that we all know—that we are all the sons and daughters of
Abraham. The similarities between Christianity, Judaism and Islam
are there to be seen, and they are strengths that we should build
on together. Wherever we are today as a nation, we will have to
play to our strengths and really work together. It is a difficult
world for us. That means mobilising everyone of all creeds and
religions in this country. Therefore, stamping out something like
Islamophobia can only help to build a better country for all of
us.
(in the Chair)
I may have to drop the time limit to two minutes because of all
the interventions. I did alert colleagues to that. For the
moment, however, I call Anum Qaisar, who has two and a half
minutes.
15:16:00
Ms Anum Qaisar (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
Thank you, Mr Dowd; it is a pleasure to serve under your
chairmanship. I congratulate the hon. Member for Manchester,
Gorton () on securing the debate, and
thank the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) for his reasoned
contribution.
I had a speech prepared and I have ripped it up, because there
are a few matters that I want to put on the record. I will start
by saying this: if you want to tackle Islamophobia, you need to
listen to the lived experiences of Muslims. Our contributions and
lived experiences will help you to shape policy to tackle
Islamophobia. I know what it feels like. I was nine years old
when I was asked if my dad was a terrorist the day after 9/11.
Only a couple of months after that, our mosque was burned to the
ground in a suspected Islamophobic attack. Those are my lived
experiences, and I know how that feels.
To be perfectly frank, I will not accept a debate in which we are
told that we have to take the politics out of it, because the
Prime Minister peddles dangerous rhetoric when he says that
veiled Muslim women look like “letter boxes”. I am a Muslim. I
know how that feels. As the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton
said, attacks against Muslim women increased after those
comments.
Will the hon. Lady give way?
Ms Qaisar
I am sorry, but I do not have enough time to take interventions.
When people say, “I don’t see race. I don’t see religion,” they
might not, but I do, because there are other people out there who
ensure that I know how it feels that I am a little bit different
from the rest of you. To be perfectly frank, I really do not care
what party Members are in. The Scottish National party is in
government in Scotland and the Conservatives are in government in
Westminster. More needs to be done across all four nations to
tackle this. The Scottish Government recently passed legislation
that expanded the definition of hate speech and makes it easier
to hold to account those who express prejudice in a threatening
or abusive way. That is a step in the right direction, and the UK
Government need to do more. We are saying, “Listen to our lived
experiences. It’s not party political.”
This has been really difficult to speak about. I will say just
one more thing: I am so proud of my identity. I am a Scottish
Pakistani Muslim. In the month of Ramadan, you will find me
fasting, and breaking my fast by drinking a cold can of Irn-Bru
and eating samosas.
15:19:00
(Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate, and I congratulate my
hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton () on leading it in the extremely
effective and passionate way that he has. The statistics that the
Muslim Council of Britain has published for Islamophobia
Awareness Month underline the urgent need for greater education
and awareness about Islam, the Muslim community and Islamophobia.
They underline the need for those of us in positions of authority
to speak out. Crucially, they underline the need for the
Government to demonstrate leadership on this issue.
Muslims have just as much right to be safe and be given the
opportunity to fulfil their potential as those of us who are not
Muslims. Almost 50% of all recorded religious hate crimes are
targeted against Muslims. Survey after survey shows Muslim adults
held back from even getting interviews, never mind full-time
work, and we know from the evidence that the MCB published that
it costs more to live if someone is a Muslim. They pay more to
insure their car, for example, and those with an apparently
obvious Muslim name who seek a flat get fewer replies.
In Harrow, there are too many examples of Islamophobia, from
casual graffiti in tube stations and men spitting at Muslim women
wearing the jilbab in north Harrow to the Muslim woman from
Harrow called a terrorist, a bomber, while travelling on the
train. There are examples, too, of job discrimination against
Muslims and in local politics, with—I say this gently in the
context of what has gone before—Conservative councillors partly
responsible. It is that day-to-day reality that needs to
change.
In my experience, the Muslim community in Harrow is astonishingly
generous. Harrow Central Mosque has helped to raise money for a
primary school in need of new computers and an overhaul of the
books in the school library. The Sri Lankan Muslim Cultural
Centre, one of the contenders for best-run mosque in the UK,
played a critical role during lockdown in helping to get food and
clothing to those in need, and the remarkable Mahfil Ali
community in north Harrow, as well as helping to run a soup
kitchen, has been attending midnight mass on Christmas eve at its
nearest Anglican church for the last 12 years. By any definition,
that is a remarkably generous gesture of interfaith respect and
love.
Muslims in Harrow walk the same streets as I do and shop in the
same supermarkets. Their children play in the same playgrounds
and they use the same public services as I do, so why should they
not have the same opportunities as I and those who look like me
do?
15:21:00
(Birmingham, Perry Barr)
(Lab)
It is a privilege to serve under your stewardship, Mr Dowd.
Although I do not agree with everything that my hon. Friend the
Member for Manchester, Gorton () has said, I thank him for
securing this debate.
A huge number of people, identities, cultures and heritages
celebrate their day, week, month or whatever—in particular, the
black community celebrates Black History Month—which is about the
achievements they have made in communities and society. I want
Islam to be recognised as a positive religion. I want us to look
at the holy Prophet, peace be upon him, whose message had a
profound effect and changed the entire Arabian society from
warring tribes into people in the worship of God. He preached
moderation and social reform. He advocated social reform on many
levels, including gender and racial equality, religious freedom
and education for all. His efforts to this day have allowed Islam
to prosper. A huge number of people were the best medical
advisers. For many years, Europe used the scriptures from Islamic
scholars to base modern medicine on, so there was a huge
advantage in what has gone on in terms of what Islam does.
In my local community, we have fantastic mosques that have
provided food banks and events to support the local community.
Also in my constituency, a very good friend of mine, Raja Khan,
has delivered more than 250 tonnes of food to communities. This
is about promoting positive Islam. If we are to get away from
people who are anti-Muslim, we must show them what is positive
about us and the positive things that we do. That is really what
this debate should be about. We are not here to promote negative
issues or go into victimisation mode. We need to be positive. We
are no lesser than anybody else. We are British citizens and we
are Muslims, and we are here to stay.
15:24:00
(Luton South) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. I
congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton
() on securing this important
debate during Islamophobia Awareness Month.
I speak as a humanist and as vice-chair of the showing racism the
red card all-party parliamentary group. I want a tolerant society
in which we collectively advocate for people’s freedom to
practise their faith or belief so that everyone may live in a
fair and equal society without discrimination. Religious
education and anti-racist education play important parts in
that.
Being born and bred in Luton, my home town, I am proud to
represent Luton South, including our significant and vibrant
Muslim community. Luton’s hyper-diversity and the contribution of
all faith and belief groups is our strength. We have to use our
strong community cohesion to stand against all forms of
discrimination and racism. As the hon. Member for Burnley () said, the scourge of
Islamophobia has no place in society.
Conspiracy theories and tropes perpetuated by the far right seek
to dismantle that community cohesion to threaten the safety of
Muslims across Luton, the UK and the world. As we have heard,
British Muslims are victims of the highest proportion of
religiously motivated hate crimes. The Home Office hate crime
statistics for 2020-21 show that 45% of religious hate crimes
recorded by the police in England and Wales were against Muslims,
with 22% of crimes targeted at Jewish victims and 9% at
Christians, while 16% of offences were unknown.
Excellent organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain,
MEND—Muslim Engagement and Development —and Tell MAMA support and
empower British Muslims. This year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month
theme is “Time for Change”. As other hon. Members have said, it
is an apt time for the Conservative party to change its approach
by conducting a genuinely independent investigation of
Islamophobia in the UK, engaging with the British Muslim
community to root out Islamophobia wherever it occurs and
accepting the definition of Islamophobia of the all-party
parliamentary group on British Muslims. I look forward to hearing
what plans the Minister has in place for Islamophobia Awareness
Month.
15:26:00
(Bath) (LD)
I express my solidarity with the hon. Member for Manchester,
Gorton () and with all Muslims in Bath
and across the UK. I join him in calling on the Government to
adopt the APPG on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia, as
we Liberal Democrats have done.
British Muslims and those perceived to be Muslims have been
subjected to the highest proportion of all hate crimes committed
this year. The Government must take an active role not only to
punish discrimination, but to ensure that it does not happen in
the first place.
I have to say that I was a little disturbed by the—initial, at
least—aggression of some Tory Members in this debate. It behoves
those of us, like me, who have not faced discrimination because
of our skin colour or religion to listen carefully to those with
the lived experience and not to call it politics, but to
recognise it as hurt that has been caused.
Will the hon. Lady give way?
No, I will not give way. [Interruption.]
(in the Chair)
Order. The hon. Lady is not giving way. There are two more
Members to speak. Their limit will go down to two minutes if
people do not keep to time and stop interrupting. It is as simple
as that.
We need to listen to those who have lived that experience, to
recognise it as hurt and not to call it politics. That is wrong,
and I am ashamed, as someone from the white Christian community.
I do not share those views, and I stand in solidarity with all
Muslims who have faced discrimination, and with those who are
perceived to be Muslim only because of their skin colour.
This month is about raising awareness of the discrimination faced
by British Muslims and the hate that drives that discrimination.
It is also time to celebrate the many contributions of British
Muslims to our society in Bath and beyond, from politics and
media, through sport and entertainment to local business and our
community life.
I must mention Mr Diya Al-Muzaffar, who allowed people into his
house on Pierrepont Street in Bath for prayer, where they still
go today—it is the site of the Bath Islamic Centre and mosque.
The Bath Islamic Society mosque offers interfaith workshops,
alongside churches and synagogues in Bath, bringing interfaith
communities together. The success of those sessions shows how we
can join together to protect and support one another. It is a
powerful reminder that there is so much more that unites us than
divides us.
15:29:00
(Slough) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd, and I
congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton
() on securing this important
debate and on his tireless work. We have been here before many
times. Islamophobia is not a new phenomenon but one that has
sadly entrenched itself into significant segments of our society.
As the Muslim Council of Britain noted, 70% of Muslims have
experienced religious-based prejudice in the past 12 months and
just under half of all religious hate crimes recorded by police
in 2020-21 were Islamophobic. I also highlight that abuse can
happen to Muslims or even those perceived as looking like
Muslims, such as turbaned Sikhs like myself.
I personally called on the Prime Minister to do more over two
years ago, and asked for an apology for his derogatory and racist
remarks describing already vulnerable Muslim women as looking
like bank robbers and “letter boxes”. Those comments led to a
375% spike in hate crimes and, more widely, showed that to openly
abuse Muslim women was acceptable. All that was without an
apology, except for a half-hearted one during the heat of an
election and only when pressed to do so. That is characteristic
of the Government response—denial, delay and avoidance.
Given the increased prevalence of such Islamophobic incidents in
the Conservative party, where is the independent inquiry into
Islamophobia, as promised on national television by the Prime
Minister and his now Health Secretary? In fact, when the
all-party group on British Muslims, of which I am proud to be a
vice-chair, agreed on a definition of Islamophobia, all major
parties accepted and adopted it with one notable exception: the
Conservative party. We cannot simply accept the unacceptable
status quo. If we do, we fail millions of Muslims because,
without action, this is the message that Muslim communities are
hearing.
I hope that the Minister, for whom I have time, has come with
more than just warm words, because the persistent failure of the
Government, particularly the Prime Minister, has real
consequences and fails the people of our country.
15:31:00
(Poplar and Limehouse)
(Lab)
Every single day, people of Muslim backgrounds like me face
discrimination and prejudice. I am never allowed to forget that
my presence in Parliament, as the first MP to wear a hijab, makes
many uncomfortable, from the regular mispronunciation of my name
to being mistaken for other hijab-wearing women who work in
Parliament, to being asked, even, if I am related to Shamima
Begum.
Too often, we are cynically used as a focal point for people’s
anxieties, as scapegoats for the failings of the political and
economic system. It should therefore be no surprise to anyone
that I constantly have to cope with a vicious torrent of abuse.
Just to give hon. Members a few examples, this is the kind of
material that I receive: “Vile and filthy religion…importing vile
and filthy creatures like Apsana Begum”; “Muslims should be
banned from public office…we can’t trust their allegiances”;
“Muslims are the masters of lying. They are the bane of our
Christian society. They do not belong and should be deported”;
“Deport the Filth”; “Throw her and her family back to where they
came from”; “Chop her hand off”; “This could be one of your last
statements”. Those are not even, by any measure, the worst of
what I receive.
All too often, Muslims live with a constant, persistent fear
overshadowing our lives, especially given that the latest data
shows that Muslims are the largest target of religiously
motivated hate crimes. The rise of the far right, in particular,
is a very present danger. I just want to pick up on the fact that
Government Members have been talking about taking politics out of
this. I wonder what they would say to what the UN special
rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief reported—that
institutional suspicion and fear of Muslims has escalated to
“epidemic proportions” and that “numerous” states, regional and
international bodies were to blame. Perhaps the Minister can
address that point.
It is important to remember that, across the world, under the
auspices of fighting terrorism and extremism, we see people of
Muslim backgrounds facing persecution and the denial of basic
citizenship rights, from the Rohingya refugees to the escalated
harassment of Muslims in France, for example. The evidence is
very clear. Islamophobia is on the rise. But there is hope and I
am inspired by the history of anti-racist struggles in east
London. I am proud to represent the constituency that I have
lived in all my life and I pay tribute to the contributions of
Muslims all across Britain.
(in the Chair)
I have allowed three or four minutes extra to give all the Back
Benchers their two and a half minutes, so I accept that there is
much to cover, but I exhort Front Benchers to take that account
in their responses.
15:34:00
(East Renfrewshire)
(SNP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd, and to
participate in such an important debate secured by the hon.
Member for Manchester, Gorton (). Those people who pay
attention to the parliamentary calendar might notice that we had
a debate quite recently on the definition of Islamophobia. We are
debating a not dissimilar topic today, which is important and
welcome. We need to be much more focused and relentless in
looking at this issue, and this debate today is part of that. The
recent high-profile cases of racism in cricket are just one
example of why that really matters.
I am a member of the APPG on British Muslims, like a number of
other hon. Members here today. The APPG is a good example of
cross-party work, which is really important: collective purpose
is absolutely necessary when we are dealing with Islamophobia,
given the significant harm and detriment caused to so many
people, some of which we have heard about today.
We have heard powerful speeches today from several hon. Members.
My hon. Friend the Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Ms Qaisar) is a
strong woman. I am proud to be her friend and colleague. What she
had to say today was really important; I am grateful to her for
saying what she did. Tackling Islamophobia absolutely requires us
to listen to the lived experience of those who are affected. It
is absolutely not on for those voices to be minimised in any
way.
There are other people whose powerful work in this area is making
a difference. We heard about Tell MAMA, which supports real
change and works closely with the Community Security Trust. Joint
working between Muslim and Jewish bodies is really important. It
is a shame that such work is needed, but it is assuredly needed.
From what some people might describe as low-level discrimination
or harassment—presumably, those people have never experienced it
themselves—to very serious crimes, the way that Islamophobia
touches lives is broad and ever evolving. We heard from the hon.
Member for Manchester, Gorton about his worries for his
grandchildren and the hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan)
talked about her own children. We heard about the online space,
which is a bin fire of abuse and harassment, with anonymous
trolls spreading bile and threatening people in a terrible way.
The impact on women is greater, online as it is offline. This is
not a straightforward issue, however, and it requires all of us
to focus.
Somebody whose work we have heard about in this area—somebody who
will deliver change—is Zara Mohammed, the new general secretary
of the Muslim Council of Britain. The call from the hon. Member
for Sheffield Central () for the Minister to discuss
with Zara is sensible. Zara is a young, Scottish woman on a
mission to deliver real, positive change. She is absolutely
committed to pressing for action to deal with Islamophobia and
improving lives. Part of how we can do that is to be open and
encourage dialogue, to make sure that people are focused
together. She was good enough to spend some time recently with me
and my right hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber
(), explaining the issues she
is dealing with. I am grateful to her for that.
Of course, these issues reach far beyond this place. The hon.
Member for Manchester, Gorton hosted some visitors earlier in the
week, including Rahima Mahmut, whose work on behalf of the Uyghur
Muslim community is so important. We owe her huge thanks.
It is also worth reflecting on the work that other groups are
doing, including groups led by young people. In my local area,
Kirsty Robson is a co-founder of Yet Again, a group of young
people who work to prevent genocides such as that faced by the
Uyghur Muslim population in China. There is the work of Never
Again Right Now, another youth-led movement, spearheaded by the
European Union of Jewish Students, including my colleague, Olaf
Stando. It is international in membership, and calls out the
treatment of those who suffer human rights abuses because of
their religion. I note its campaign in support of Uyghur Muslims,
calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing games.
I mention those groups in particular because solidarity is
important. Tackling Islamophobia is not something that only
Muslims should have to deal with and it is not something that is
the responsibility of Muslims. We need to be open, all of us, to
the fact that it is an issue everywhere. I have heard some
comments today that make me think that I need to emphasise that
point. I live in a fantastically religiously diverse community. I
live in a country where there is a lot of work going into
delivering fairness and social justice and stamping out racism in
all its forms, but we do not have a magic wand. We cannot wish
away the reality that Islamophobia remains and is an issue in
Scotland just as it is everywhere else. We need to be alive to
that and we need to be willing to work hard to deal with it.
The Scottish Parliament has a cross-party group working hard on
this issue. It has been working with Professor Peter Hopkins and
his team from Newcastle University, has conducted an inquiry and
has adopted the APPG definition of Islamophobia. As we have
heard, all parties in the Scottish Parliament have agreed to do
that.
We need to define Islamophobia; we need to be clear what we are
talking about and what is unacceptable, and we cannot do that if
we do not define it. We need to be confident in our language.
It is welcome that the Scottish Parliament has got to that place.
I am really keen to hear from the Minister the UK Government’s
plans to look at this again and push ahead with this. I do not
think they should get to keep kicking this into the long grass,
particularly given the Prime Minister’s past comments, which are
indefensible. The tone of some comments from Government Members
today is regrettable. That is not the way we should conduct
ourselves in here. Some of the eye-rolling and the language used
was most unfortunate. However, I have to say that the
contributions from the hon. Members for Burnley () and for Wycombe (Mr
Baker) were eloquent and welcome. We need to see and hear more
from the UK Government on this. We need to be mindful of the
broader environment that we are in: there is a changing climate
across in the world. We have a part to play here, using the
platforms that we have, in making sure that we make a difference,
because there has been a surge in respect of how the Muslim
community is treated.
I conclude by returning to something the Minister said, which
others have reflected on. She said that this is not political, or
should not be, but her comments were. We need to take a step back
from some of that. We need to accept that this is an issue for
all of us in this Chamber and across the House; we all have a
responsibility and duty to deal with Islamophobia. We will do
that better if we can have discussions without raising the
temperature in the way that it was raised, regrettably, today. I
hope the Minister has something positive to say on that.
(in the Chair)
I want to give two minutes to wind up the
debate.
15:41:00
(Bradford West) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I
thank my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton () for securing the debate. I
thank all Members who contributed to the debate and the many
others, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry North West
(), who could not make the
debate but wanted to put on the record their commitment to
tackling Islamophobia.
Islamophobia is a dark reality, with three Muslim grandfathers
murdered here in the UK, while terrorist attacks in Christchurch,
Quebec and multiple others around the world emphasise the serious
nature of Islamophobia if left unchallenged. In the UK,
Islamophobic hate crimes against Muslims and their places of
worship have sadly become far too common. The latest data for
2020-21 show that 45% of all religious hate crimes recorded by
police in England and Wales were against Muslims, although a
large number of cases are simply not reported to the police. Data
from the crime survey of England and Wales suggests the actual
number is approximately six times the number of recorded
offences. According to the same data, Muslims were the most
likely to be victims of religiously motivated hate crimes in
2017-18 and 2019-20.
That is not Muslims complaining about Islamophobia. That is the
police collecting data on Muslims being attacked. One would
think, when Muslims are the most likely to be the victims of
religiously motivated hate crimes, that Islamophobia would be a
top Government priority but, tragically, it is not. Islamophobia
does not manifest itself only in hate crime. Islamophobia is not
always a visible attack on mosques or Muslims. Someone does not
have to vigorously hate another person to discriminate against
them. Discrimination comes in many forms, including conscious and
unconscious bias. Let me explain how.
When 15-year-old Azeem Rafiq is forced
in a car to drink alcohol, that is of course a hate crime and an
assault. Later, when he feels he has to drink alcohol to fit in,
to be the best that he can be, to have an opportunity to
progress, where is the hate crime then? He is in an environment
in which he cannot be the best or achieve his dreams while
adhering to the faith that he chooses to follow. Listening to his
evidence at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, it
was evident how much trauma he faced later on in life through
being forced to be someone he was not just to fit in.
Many Muslims face similar barriers daily. A sizeable percentage
of British Muslim women do not wear the headscarf, not because
they do not want to but because they fear that, by wearing one,
they may be attacked, or due to prejudice, will have lower
chances of succeeding and reaching the top. They, too, feel that
they have to fit in to avoid abuse, discrimination or their
chances being limited. Their fear is not misplaced. A 2016 Women
and Equalities Committee report found that Muslim women face a
triple penalty. Some of the vilest vitriol I have received online
is coupled with a picture of me wearing the headscarf while being
at a place of worship.
As Muslim women, we often recall praise such as, “I am impressed
to see how empowered you are as a Muslim woman”—as if being a
Muslim was a barrier to empowerment and we even beat it through
our archaic faith to become a symbol of success. Although this is
often done unknowingly, it is done through people accepting a
trope about Islam being a faith that is deeply misogynistic.
Contrary to that trope, I want to put on record that as a Muslim
woman, my empowerment as a women comes from my faith and the life
and teachings of the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him.
A report by the Centre for Media Monitoring that analysed media
output over a three-month period in 2018, which comprised
analysis of over 10,000 published articles and broadcast clips,
found 59% of all articles associated Muslims with negative
behaviour and over a third misrepresented or generalised about
Muslims, with terrorism being the most common theme.
When such perpetuated tropes and false conspiracies about Muslims
are allowed to develop, it enables an environment where people
are otherised and demonised. Not everything I have mentioned is a
hate crime, but it all can have an impact. Islamophobes and those
who consciously or unconsciously discriminate against Muslims
often use anything and everything that links to a person’s
Muslimness as a factor for their negativity, be that religious
practices, ways of dressing or customs, or even sometimes
something that is not part of Islam, but is perceived as Muslim,
such as a Sikh man wearing a turban. The reality is that
Islamophobia is rampant across society, and purely basing
Islamophobia on hate crimes like this Government wish to do
deprives us of the ability to tackle the full extent of
Islamophobia.
We have to tackle the environment in which Islamophobia is
normalised. Today, a former England captain, Michael Vaughan, can
ludicrously suggest a Muslim England Cricket player like Moeen
Ali should go around in between test matches asking random
Muslims if they are terrorists—as if he too was somehow
liable—and still continue to be a mainstream pundit. The former
editor of The Sun, Kelvin MacKenzie, can openly brand Muslims as
antisemites and say that it is a nice change from a Muslim making
a bomb or trying to kill hospital visitors, and still get invited
as a mainstream guest on media shows. In fact, people like Trevor
Phillips can generalise an entire community by saying:
“Muslims are not like us”,
that they will never fit in and are
“becoming a nation within a nation”,
without an apology or remorse, and get a special programme in
their name on Sky News.
(Leeds North West)
(Lab/Co-op)
My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. On her point about
institutionalised Islamophobia in certain parts of society—she
mentioned cricket and the media—should we not be looking at the
governing organisations, whether that is Ofcom in the media or
the England and Wales Cricket Board, and seeing whether they are
fit for purpose? I do not think they are in this regard.
I absolutely agree and thank my hon. Friend, because that brings
me nicely on to my next point. In 2011, the former chair of the
Conservative party, , said that Islamophobia had
“passed the dinner table test”. A decade later in 2021,
Islamophobia has now passed the mainstream media test. It has
become normalised. In fact, it has become fashionable to demonise
Muslims and gain from the political capital of hate. That is why
it is so important to adopt a definition of Islamophobia to
enable us to at least understand and tackle Islamophobia in all
its forms.
The Labour party was one of the first parties to accept the APPG
definition of Islamophobia. Again, last week, the chair of the
Labour party and my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton
wrote to the Government urging them to rethink and adopt the
definition. I welcome the intervention by the hon. Member for
Wycombe (Mr Baker) on trying to do that in a collegiate way.
The Government’s record on a definition of Islamophobia is
horrific. The Government refused the Muslim community a
definition of Islamophobia, they then refused to accept a
cross-party definition, and now two and a half years after
promising a definition, they have failed to produce one. While
the Minister may try to regurgitate the same old falsehoods about
the APPG definition, I ask her one simple question. The APPG
officers, before publishing the definition and in good faith,
gave sight of it to Ministers. Since the definition has been
published, can she tell me if the Government have ever reached
out to the APPG to address any questions or concerns with the
definition and in good faith try to come to a solution together
on the matter? Have they even reached out, even once? The
dangerous message that it sends to British Muslims is that this
Government simply do not care.
When it came to the covid pandemic, this Government played with
people’s lives; when it came to levelling up, they played with
people’s future; and, again, on the issue of Islamophobia, they
are playing with people’s lives. Minister, I urge this Government
to show some leadership and good faith. This issue is far too
serious to be ignored. As the theme for this year’s Islamophobia
month suggests, it is time for change.
15:50:00
The Minister for Equalities ()
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I
thank all hon. Members for their contributions. It has been a
very feisty debate, and it is quite clear that concerns about
anti-Muslim hatred transcend party lines.
I thank the hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton () for securing this debate. I
say to him that I am not afraid of using the phrase
“Islamophobia”. We are not going to have a semantic argument, but
there are good reasons why we refer to anti-Muslim hatred. It is
partly to do with the APPG finding that the definition is not in
accordance with the Equality Act 2010. If the hon. Gentleman
wants more correspondence on why that is the case, I am very
happy to provide it. I stand here not just as the Minister for
faith but as the Equalities Minister. We must not allow those who
seek to divide our diverse and multi-faith society to succeed. We
are united here today in our determination to protect people and
end discrimination.
I would like to use this occasion to remind colleagues about the
tragic murder of our colleague and friend, , whose funeral was yesterday. I
attended it, as I think many others in this room did. He died at
the hands of someone seeking to divide us all; someone claiming
to act on behalf of Islam. However, if ever people needed
reminding of the real values of Muslims in this country, they
need look no further than the tributes paid by the Muslim
community of Southend to the life of Sir David. His murder could
have fanned the flames of fear and resentment, but instead of
opening new fault lines between people, it was met with an
outpouring of love and good will.
That is at the heart of what we are here today to discuss. The
freedoms to say what we feel and to worship as we please are both
fundamental to the character of this country. Those democratic
values are reinforced by our staunch belief in equal rights and
the rule of law. These are the principles that underpin debates
such as this.
Dr Allin-Khan
Will the Minister give way?
I barely have time to finish my speech, so I am afraid not.
No one in our society should be discriminated against because of
their religion. In the spirit of remarks of the hon. Member for
Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr Mahmood), I will talk about the
contributions of Muslims to our public life.
Dr Allin-Khan
Will the Minister give way?
I am afraid I do not have the time.
(in the Chair)
Order. The Minister clearly does not want to give way.
The UK is one of the best places in the world to live, no matter
who you are or where you come from. It is full of opportunities.
We have a large and thriving Muslim population who have made
contributions to our country and society. The country’s first two
mosques were founded in 1887, and now there are almost 2,000
mosques serving a Muslim population of more than 3 million.
Wherever we look, we see Muslims enriching our public life,
including as politicians in the Cabinet, as doctors and nurses
keeping our NHS going, and as sporting heroes dominating on the
world stage. Their prominence is testament to our openness as a
country, and proof of something that has long been true: when
someone lives in Britain they can become anything they want,
whether that is Health Secretary, Education Secretary or growing
up to win gold medals representing Team GB.
I now turn to the remarks made by hon. Members during the debate.
I am afraid that I will not be able to cover all of them, but I
will try to go through as many as I can. The hon. Member for
Manchester, Gorton invited me to visit the country’s first green
mosque. I will have a look at my diary and see if that is
something I can accommodate. He also asked what we are doing to
keep people safe online. He knows that we are progressing the
online safety Bill. If there is anything specific he would like
to mention, I would be very happy to take them forward on his
behalf—it is a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
competency, but I am sure that we all can work together.
The hon. Gentleman also asked what we are doing to protect places
of worship. I am told that we are funding, through the places of
worship protective security funding scheme, quite possibly well
over £100 million. Is that correct? It is quite a lot. I will
confirm the amount, but we are putting several millions into the
protected security funding scheme. I do not have the exact figure
in front of me.
The hon. Gentleman also mentioned his letter to the Prime
Minister. This has caused quite a bit of confusion. The hon.
Gentleman wrote to the PM and received a response from the party
chairman. I often respond on behalf of the Prime Minister. I am
informed that, after the hon. Gentleman made a point of order,
the Prime Minister responded to his letter, so I hope that we can
put that matter to rest.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bury North () made some really good points
about individual action; it is not just about words or
definitions. My hon. Friend the Member for Dewsbury () also made the point that
this should not be a party political issue, and talked about the
trust that people have in different political parties. This is
not just a Conservative party issue, and people should not make
it out as such.
I thank hon. Member for Tooting (Dr Allin-Khan) for sharing her
experiences of anti-Muslim hatred. I found them quite shocking
and will come on to what the Government are doing to tackle
that.
My hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Mr Baker) asked me to meet
the APPG officers. He will be pleased to know that my office has
already reached out to the shadow Minister’s office. We have not
yet had a response, but I am sure that we will in due course and
that we will find a time to meet the APPG. I am happy to meet its
chair as well.
Although I admire the passion expressed by the hon. Member for
Airdrie and Shotts (Ms Qaisar), I disagree with her fundamentally
when she says that we should not take the politics out of the
debate. We should take the politics out of the debate—in fact, we
must. I grew up in a country where people did not take the
politics out of the debate and can tell hon. Members now that
when we do not do that and allow politics to infect religions,
countries burn. As faith Minister, my approach will be to take
the heat and the politics out of the debate. [Interruption.]
(in the Chair)
Order.
It was disappointing that the hon. Member for Bath () used her speech to make
partisan attacks on colleagues on the Government side of the
House. She said that she does not have the lived experience of
racism and that we should listen to those who do. I can tell her
of my many lived experiences of racism at the hands of Liberal
Democrats who made disgusting and vile comments, which I am sure
she would be happy to apologise for. We should be able to have
this debate without making partisan attacks such as hers.
[Interruption.] I did not intervene on Opposition Members, so I
will not give up my time to take interventions.
The hon. Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi) made a fair point, which I
accept. He said that it is fair to talk about action. I accept
that he has made a good point that things have been slow. A
commitment was made several years ago and we did lose momentum.
We had a change in Administration, Brexit and covid, which,
fingers crossed, we are coming out of. I think he will find a
different change of tone and pace with me as faith Minister.
We all share the view that hatred of Muslims is a vile social
ill. We have no time for people who seek to divide us. As I said
before, we will not tolerate anti-Muslim hatred any more than we
tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hatred, but the
reality is that, despite this and our continued condemnation,
stubborn pockets of prejudice exist.
Home Office figures show that 45% of religiously motivated hate
crime recorded by the police was perpetrated against Muslims. The
fact that Muslims—[Interruption.]
Dr Allin-Khan
Take an intervention!
(in the Chair)
Order.
I would like to conclude my speech without being talked over. I
can barely hear myself. This is not the spirit in which we
should—[Interruption.]
(in the Chair)
Order. Can we stop interrupting? We have two and a half minutes.
The Member in charge is not going to get to speak and we may not
even get to put the question. That is how serious this is. I have
tried to be as honest and delicate as I can in this debate and
give people the opportunity to speak.
It is shameful that Muslims can still face verbal or physical
attacks and are made to feel like outsiders in their own country.
Political parties are granted a rare standing in public life, and
it is our job as politicians to demonstrate leadership and set an
example for others to follow in everything we do, from our public
discourse to our constituency surgeries.
To that end, it was incredibly disappointing that the hon.
Members for Manchester, Gorton and for Streatham () used their speeches to
attack William Shawcross with defamatory remarks that would be
actionable if made outside this Chamber. William Shawcross is an
outstanding public servant, as is Trevor Phillips, who the shadow
Minister mentioned.
On a point of order, Mr Dowd. I do not make this point of order
flippantly. The Minister has just said that Mr Shawcross is a
great man and she started her speech by using a trope about
Muslims and terrorism, yet she is meant to be talking about
Islamophobia. Shawcross has said that the Muslim faith is a
fascist faith. How can she say that he is a person to lead a
review that impacts on Muslims?
(in the Chair)
You know that is not a point of order. Carry on, Minister.
Debates such as this are symbolically important to show our
shared commitment, but symbolism does not improve lives on its
own. The Government have done a lot and we have some of the
strongest legislation in the world for tackling hate crime, and
it is working.
I will give a few examples. In 2019 a man who posted violent
messages about Muslims alongside photos of him posing with a fake
shotgun was jailed for four years. That year, two brothers
attacked a group of men outside a Cardiff mosque: one was
sentenced to five years and three months in jail, the other to 18
months in jail.
Our approach to discrimination is something that we should be
proud of. In July, the European Court of Justice gave the green
light to employers in the European Union to ban their workers
from wearing hijabs or other religious insignia. We have taken
control of our laws and are no longer subject to the ECJ’s
jurisdiction. I am sure that all hon. Members will agree that
that kind of prohibition is thoroughly un-British.
I recognise that the debate is concluding, Mr Dowd, so what I
will say in closing is that this is an issue that I am prepared
to work on with all Members of the House, but what I will not do
is be intimidated or bullied, and—
Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 10(6)).
|
