This week, the Muslim Council of Britain – of which I am assistant secretary general – wrote to the Conservative chair, Brandon Lewis, detailing the many incidents of unchecked Islamophobia within his party. The MCB chose its words carefully, explicitly refraining from calling the party inherently Islamophobic. But the letter did call for an independent inquiry into Islamophobia so that the Conservatives could acknowledge the problem and find ways to fix it.
As chairman, Lewis is the person who could make a difference. But in recent weeks, he and the party’s deputy chair, James Cleverly, have played down Islamophobia among Conservatives despite the wealth of evidence to the contrary.
Take Zac Goldsmith’s campaign for London mayor. The way devout Muslims were depicted in that campaign was described by Andrew Boff, the most senior Conservative in the London assembly, as “outrageous”. Yet, senior figures within the party appeared to take an active role in the strategy. Theresa May, home secretary at the time, declared Khan unsafe to run London because of an alleged history of defending extremists; and David Cameron and the then defence secretary, Michael Fallon, falsely accused an imam associated with Khan of supporting Islamic State. The claim was later retracted (Fallon had to pay damages). After his mayoral defeat, Goldsmith remained in the party despite there being no apology, no acknowledgement of the racism of the campaign and despite the fact continued to state that Khan had links to extremism.
One MP, Bob Blackman, shared an anti-Muslim tweet from the far-right activist Tommy Robinson in 2016, though he claims it was an “error”. He also hosted a hardline anti-Muslim Hindu nationalist in parliament. He was also a member of Islamophobic Facebook groups including Britain for the British. Just this week, he was revealed to have shared a tweet by the website ShankhNaad, which has been accused of publishing false stories designed to cause tensions between Hindus and Muslims.
It’s not just MPs. Conservative candidates and councillors exhibit Islamophobia on a weekly basis. One shared a post that called Muslims “parasites”, another endorsed the idea that Muslims should be “repatriated” to keep Europe safe, and another was exposed as being a former “security adviser” to the British National party.
This overwhelming evidence of Islamophobia is extremely serious and merits urgent action.
Sayeeda Warsi, the first Muslim to serve in cabinet and the party’s former chair, believes there is a “simmering underbelly” of Islamophobia in the party. Lady Warsi raised her concerns informally and formally, including a letter to the prime minister last year, but on each occasion, she says the party “shrugged its shoulders” and did nothing.
The decision by the MCB to issue a formal letter on this issue has not been reached lightly. The Conservative party has so far chosen to be defensive, rather than engage with the cases put forward.
But a Conservative party that deals with Islamophobia will not only increase its support among Muslims who share its values – 11% voted for the party in 2017 – it would also strengthen our democracy. Is that not a worthy goal?
• Miqdaad Versi is assistant secretary general for the Muslim Council of Britain