PNN – The Prime Minister of England, who is under a lot of pressure from the public opinion following the suspension of the senior member of the conservative ruling party on charges of Islamophobia, is trying to avoid the deep-rooted case of anti-Islamism in this party by misreading and distancing himself from his literature.
According to Pakistan News Network, in an interview with BBC radio, Rishi Sonak claimed in response to a question about the tendency of the conservative party towards Islamophobia: No, there is no such thing. Of course, all of us, especially those who are members of parliament, should not speak in a way that causes annoyance.
He continued: The statements of Lee Anderson (who was suspended from the Conservative Party last Saturday) were not acceptable, they were wrong, and therefore he was suspended from the party.
The British Prime Minister added: The words he chose were not acceptable. In the current situation where tensions are high, words are important and we all have a duty to use them carefully.
He declined to comment on Mr Anderson’s failure to apologise, but said that as prime minister he was trying to defuse the issue and “that’s what people want to see”.
Reiterating that words are important in the current tense situation, Sonak added: His (Anderson’s) words were not acceptable and therefore he was suspended from the party.
57-year-old Lee Anderson, representative of the ruling conservative party from the constituency of Ashfield, England, was suspended from membership in this party last Saturday, in a rare development, on charges of Islamophobia. Simon Hart, a spokesman for the Conservative Party’s membership watchdog (WIP), announced on Saturday that Mr Anderson had been suspended from the party for refusing to apologize for comments he made against Muslims.
While Anderson made these statements, the vote of the British parliamentarians on the two-sided plan of the Labor Party has terrified the Zionist lobby in England. In this plan, despite supporting the ceasefire in Gaza, the Labor Party has left the hand of the Zionist regime open for the continuation of the war. In this plan, it is claimed that if Hamas fights continue, “Israel cannot be expected to stop the war.”
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This issue caused a strong protest by the National Party of Scotland, which, as the main proponent of this plan, had accused the Zionist regime of mass punishment of Palestinians. But the amendment of the Labor Party caused the members of the British Parliament to call for a ceasefire in Gaza with different language.
By publishing a message on the X social network, Sadiq Khan considered the statements made by Mr. Anderson and Ms. Bravarman as a “poisonous attempt to create a divide between society and serve the interests of the supporters of the Zionist regime, and said that these statements are an indicator of Islamophobia and racist approach.
Emphasizing the increase in hate crimes against Muslims, the mayor of London warned: “These comments add fuel to the fire of hatred against Muslims.”
Meanwhile, according to the results of the latest research conducted in England, the number of crimes related to Islamophobia in this country has tripled since the beginning of the Gaza war. The British charity “TelMama” announced that from October 7 (the beginning of the Gaza war) to February 7, it recorded 2,100 incidents related to anti-Islamism, which shows an increase of 600 cases compared to the same period last year.
This is the highest rate in a four-month period since this British charity started collecting statistics on Islamophobia in 2011.
The British Labor Party officially recognized the definition of Islamophobia five years ago. According to this definition, Islamophobia is identified as a type of racism that targets all forms of being Muslim. However, the conservative ruling party refuses to accept such a definition.
The conservative party promised 4 years ago that it would provide a practical definition of Islamophobia, but the delay and comments made have increased doubts about the seriousness of the government in this field.
British MP Afzal Khan said in a statement that the government’s delay in this matter shows that “they do not take this issue seriously. Year after year, British Muslims are victims of the highest proportion of hate crimes and there is no sign of this trend slowing down under the Conservative government.”
At the same time, a person named Qari Asim was appointed as a consultant in this field, but the disruptions of Michael Gove, the Minister of Welfare, Housing and Communities of England, stopped the work in this field. Not long ago, while attending a round table about extremism, he called “political Islam” a virus in insulting statements and avoided answering questions about accepting the definition of Islamophobia.
Masoud Shajareh, head of the British Islamic Human Rights Commission, told IRNA: The election of Rishi Sunak as the first Asian Prime Minister of England created many discussions about whether the rate of racism in England will decrease. But the reality is that racism and Islamophobia and xenophobia in general continue and are growing.
He stated: Muslims living in England have become second-class citizens in all aspects of life, and this situation is the result of the climate of hatred that politicians and the media are fueling.