Saturday, 27 Apr 2024

British Muslims 'fear for their future' under Boris Johnson government

British Muslims say they fear for their future under a Boris Johnson government after his landslide win in the general election.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has called on the Prime Minister – who has been personally accused of Islamophobia – to reassure British Muslims of their place in Britain.

Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB, said that as the Tory party celebrated their win, there was a ‘palpable sense of fear’ among Muslim communities around the country.

He said: ‘We entered the election campaign period with long standing concerns about bigotry in our politics and our governing party. Now we worry that Islamophobia is ‘oven-ready’ for government.

‘Mr Johnson has been entrusted with huge power, and we pray it is exercised responsibly for all Britons.’

The Tory party won a comfortable majority of 74 and the party’s best showing in a parliamentary election since Margaret Thatcher triumphed in 1987.

The warning from MCB came as Baroness Warsi, a former Tory co-chair and cabinet minister, said the party ‘must start healing its relationship with British Muslims’.

In a tweet, she said: ‘Endorsements from #TommyRobinson & #KatieHopkins & colleagues retweeting both is deeply disturbing. Independent Inquiry into #Islamophobia is a must first step. The battle to root out racism must now intensify’.

The senior tory peer has previously criticised Mr Johnson for failing call an inquiry into Islamophobia within the Tory ranks, instead opting for a more general investigation  into ‘all forms of prejudice’.

During the general election campaign the PM apologised for hurt caused to the Muslim community by his party, but stopped short of saying sorry for offensive comments in his journalism which included comparing Muslim women who wear the burqa to letterboxes.

In his acceptance speech today, Mr Johnson urged the nation to ‘let the healing begin’and said he will work to ‘unite and level up’ the whole of the UK under his ‘one nation Conservative government’

With the 2019 General Election campaign being the most divisive in living memory, Mr Khan called on the PM to stay true to his promise and ramp up efforts to bring communities together.

He said: ‘We understand that the Prime Minister insists that he is a One Nation Tory. We earnestly hope that is the case and urge him to lead from the centre and engage with all communities.

‘We must all redouble our efforts to heal the country and bring communities together’.

Meanwhile, the Labour Against Antisemitism group said the election result – which saw the Labour suffer their worst losses since their worst since 1935, was a ‘damning verdict’ on Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership of what they called an ‘institutionally racist’ party.

They said; ‘The next leader must be prepared to take all necessary measures to deal with Corbyn’s legacy of anti-Jewish hatred, including cooperating fully with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission investigation. Failure to do so will only lead to further electoral catastrophe for the Labour Party.’

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