Baroness Warsi: ‘It’s our duty to counteract perception of Muslims’

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has warned of the dangers of Islamophobia.

Baroness Warsi was speaking at the Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) fundraising dinner, in London last night.

Two years ago Baroness Warsi, who has responsibility in Government for faith and communities, was criticised claiming that Islamophobia in Britain “had passed the dinner table test”.

In the most recent speech she said, “When I said that Islamophobia had ‘passed the dinner table test’.

“I meant anti-Muslim sentiment had become so socially acceptable, it could be found even in the most civilised of settings.

“I got a fair amount of stick for making that statement. There were those who denied the problem existed.

“There were those who said talking about it was dangerous.

“But let me tell you what’s really dangerous: “It’s when people are treated differently because they hold a different religious belief.”

She noted research which claimed that only a mere 24% thought Muslims were compatible with the British way of life.

“Perhaps most disturbingly, nearly half of people polled thought there would be a clash of civilisations between and Muslims and other Britons.

“This echoes previous research by Clive Field, whose polls suggested that up to one-fifth of adults were ‘strongly Islamophobic’.

“My fear is this: that seeing one community as the ‘other’ is a slippery slope. That it will enable extremists to advance their twisted interests unchecked.

“And I don’t have to remind anyone what happens when an unfounded suspicion of one people can escalate into unspeakable horror.”

She was also keen to point out how important it was to have role models which helped dispel some of the myths about Muslim.

“Now it’s our duty to counteract this perception of Muslims. To those who say that there is a conflict of being loyal to Britain and a Muslim, you have to look no further than Mohamed Farah.

“Our national hero is a practising Muslim. The double gold medallist saw no conflict between crossing the finish line in the Union Flag and dropping to the ground in prayer.

“In fact, he showed how seamlessly religion and patriotism can go together.

“He made that point when he curtly told one interviewer ‘look mate, I’m British’.”

To find out more about Tell MAMA see tellmamauk.org

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