All the familiar confusions and obfuscations appear in this article, and in the controversy itself. “Racism” of course is part of this problem, and yet Islam is still not a race, and Muslims (as well as jihadis) are found among people of all races.
The lead paragraph claims that “Islamophobia” is found in Britain as well as in the ranks of the Conservative Party, but the article then goes on to discuss alleged hate crimes against Muslims. While there may be hate crimes committed against Muslims in the UK, although these need to be defined and carefully documented so as to ensure that it’s not just a matter of rude looks and the kind of impolite comments that everyone must endure at one time or another, it is extremely unlikely that Conservative Party officials are committing these alleged hate crimes. Here again what is at play is the conflation of hate crimes with opposition to jihad violence and Sharia oppression: some Conservatives have demonstrated that they oppose jihad, and that’s being lumped in with vigilante attacks on innocent Muslims as all part of the same “Islamophobia.”
The UK is having a national debate over “Islamophobia” while the term is being used in wildly divergent and contradictory ways, and no one can come up with a definition of the term that is acceptable to everyone.
“UK Conservatives face fresh pressure over Islamophobia allegations,” Arab News, November 7, 2022:
LONDON: The UK’s governing Conservative Party has been accused of ignoring rising Islamophobia in Britain and within its ranks as new figures show a surge in anti-Muslim hate crimes nationwide, The Independent reported on Monday.
Government figures show that hate crimes targeting Muslims in the UK rose by 28 percent in the last year, accounting for 42 percent of all recorded religious hate crimes in 2021/22.
For the past five years, Muslims have accounted for the highest proportion of religious hate crime victims, figures show.
Within the Conservative Party, questions remain over the result of a probe into MP Mark Spencer, who was accused of Islamophobia by a fellow MP.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case last month said the investigation into Spencer’s actions remains “outstanding.”
In a letter to Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi, Labour chair Anneliese Dodds questioned the government’s alleged inaction on Islamophobia.
“It is deeply concerning that I must again raise the issue of Islamophobia directly with the chair of the Conservative Party,” she said.
“As Islamophobic hate crime is on the rise, the Conservatives need to show they are serious about tackling this insidious hatred, both in society and within their party. Denial of the issue simply isn’t good enough.”
Zahawi previously rejected criticism that the Conservatives are suffering from an Islamophobia problem, saying he “did not recognize institutional racism in the party.”…
Dodds asked Zahawi whether his party would end the “bizarre practice of refusing to use the term.”…
Imam Qari Asim, a senior British Muslim figure who took part in consultations with the parliamentary group, warned earlier this year that the government “had not engaged with him at all.”
He added that officials “completely failed to undertake any steps to facilitate the work of establishing a new definition in the last three years.”
