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Tory Candidates All Agree That “Islamophobia” In Their Party Must Be Investigated (Part One)

Jun 22, 2019 10:00 am By Hugh Fitzgerald

On June 17, the five Tory candidates then in  the running for prime minister — Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Savid Javid, Rory Stewart, and Michael Gove — appeared for a debate on the BBC. (The field has now been narrowed to two: Johnson and Hunt.) The format included questions from pre-vetted callers. Abdullah Patel, an imam in Bristol, called to say that he had seen firsthand the malign effects of “Islamophobia,” and asked if the candidates agreed that “words have consequences.” The host, Emily Maitlis, referred the question first to Boris Johnson, reminding him of comments he had made comparing Muslim women wearing the veil with “letterboxes” and “bank robbers.”

Johnson replied:

“In so far as my words have given offense over the last 20 or 30 years, when I have been a journalist and people have taken those words out of my articles and escalated them, of course I am sorry for the offense they have caused.”

An apology of sorts, in which Johnson did not directly discuss his “letterbox” remark, but referred to all his words in his articles over the past 20-30 years, and did not say he was sorry for the words themselves, which he implied were taken out of context and exaggerated (“escalated”) for effect,  but was “sorry for the offense” they may have caused others. That is a different thing.

“When my Muslim great-grandfather came to this country in fear of his life in 1912, he did so because he knew it was a place that was a beacon of hope and of generosity and openness, and a willingness to welcome people from around the world.”

Some of Johnson’s critics  felt that his reference to his “Muslim great-grandfather” was akin to the antisemite who defends himself with the claim that “some of my best friends are Jewish.” But Johnson was making a valid point, not about his own scarcely-discernible link to Islam, but about his great-grandfather, who in 1912 fled a barbaric Islamic land — Ottoman Turkey — and found sanctuary in the “hope and generosity and  openness” of Great Britain. His Muslim great-grandfather was a real person, not some fictional “best friend” made up to prove a point, and Johnson was right to cite that Turkish ancestor’s welcome in 1912 as a telling example, from his own family’s history, of British generosity and openness.

Johnson’s limited contrition over his “letterboxes” remark was disappointing; he might have stuck to his guns, explaining that he deplored the niqab (which he confessed with the similar “burka”) — though he would not ban it — both as a security threat, for it put him in mind not only of “letterboxes,” but of “bank robbers,” and as an article of clothing too often forced on Muslim women. He then might have asked his rivals to join him in condemning all such extreme cover — burka, niqab, chador — where it was not a matter of the woman’s free choice: “I am sure you agree that there is nothing anti-Islam about defending the rights of Muslim women to choose their clothing.” How many of them would have dared to disagree?

Sajid Javid, the home secretary, who had previously called for an independent investigation into “Islamophobia” in the Conservative Party, did so again in his reply to Mr. Patel, and asked his rivals to back his demand; they all nodded in seeming agreement. “It’s great that we all agree on that,” Javid said, noting that there was a “concern [about] growing anti-Muslim hatred in our country, certainly over the last few years, in all parts of society. And, wherever that is, including in political parties, it must be absolutely rooted out.”

He added: “We are, today, one of the most successful multiracial democracies in the world – whatever your race, whatever your religious background. And that is what we have got to remain.”

Just how “successful” has the U.K. been in creating a multi-religious democracy? The thousands of English girls who have been the victims of  Muslim grooming gangs in a dozen cities would not agree. Nor would the police, if they were allowed to speak their mind about “No-Go” areas created by Muslims in major cities — London, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Birmingham — where non-Muslims are made to feel unwelcome by the inhabitants, and even the police must watch their backs. Antisemitic hate crimes, almost all by Muslims, hit a record high in 2018. Sikh and Hindu girls have been the targets of attention from Muslim men, hoping to marry and convert these girls, thereby increasing Muslim numbers in what has been called a “Love Jihad.” All this suggests that things are not quite as rosy in the U.K.’s ‘multi-religious democracy” as Sajid Javid claims.

It is too bad that not one of the other candidates took issue with Javid, but of course to mention the grooming gangs, the No-Go areas, the “Love Jihad” would not have been politic. Instead, his claim about “anti-Muslim hatred” — part of the victimhood narrative that Muslims all over the West have constructed — went unchallenged. Why didn’t anyone ask him to compare the numbers of hate crimes against Muslims in the U.K. with the far greater number of hate crimes by Muslims? No Muslims are fleeing the country, but some Jews, reeling from Muslim attacks, have left for Israel. There are  No-Go areas where non-Muslims fear to tread, but despite this supposed increase of “anti-Muslim hatred,” there  appear to be no No-Go areas for Muslims. They are free to roam unconcernedly, while non-Muslims, especially Jews and women, must watch their backs in many Muslim areas.

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Filed Under: "Islamophobia", Featured, Hugh Fitzgerald, United Kingdom, Useful idiots Tagged With: Boris Johnson, Sajid Javid


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Comments

  1. Keya says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 10:13 am

    “successful multiracial democracies in the world “
    Javed is a Muslim first then a British

    • mortimer says

      Jun 22, 2019 at 12:29 pm

      Javed is not a Muslim first, but a secular ex-Muslim. Fact. He has bravely confessed he is not a believer in any religion.

      • Rufolino says

        Jun 23, 2019 at 5:18 am

        Why did he swear his Oath of Allegiance to the Queen on the Koran ?

  2. Savvy Kafir says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 10:17 am

    Patriotic. Islam-savvy Brits must stop voting for Tories and Labor. Both parties are leading the country off a cliff.

    If you want to see sanity & common sense restored to the UK, support Anne Marie Waters’ For Britain party.

    • Savvy Kafir says

      Jun 22, 2019 at 10:20 am

      Oops! Make that “Labour”. They suck lots. But so do the Tories.

  3. Angemon says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 10:22 am

    Tory Candidates All Agree That “Islamophobia” In Their Party Must Be Investigated

    They shouldn’t bother – unless they can be more anti-semitic than Labour, they’ll never win the muslim vote…

  4. John Allan says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 10:56 am

    ‘“I am sure you agree that there is nothing anti-Islam about defending the rights of Muslim women to choose their clothing.” How many of them would have dared to disagree?’

    The last time I checked, the UK was NOT a Muslim country. So any reference to Islam and its banal rites and traditions, favourable or otherwise, is entirely acceptable.

  5. R Russell says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 11:04 am

    Yes, Great how 5% of the UK population is managing to get the government to adopt sharia law.

    • Rufolino says

      Jun 23, 2019 at 5:19 am

      Appeasement, appeasement, appeasement…

  6. jewdog says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 11:57 am

    New evidence has emerged that British officials in the government and the military encouraged the Arabs, for example the Egyptians under King Farouk, to attack Israel in 1948, as David Ben Gurion had long maintained. Britain has an antisemitic tradition that stretches way back, and it has always existed in tension with an opposing strain of decency from leaders like Churchill. We see the darker side today in the Labour party, and the lighter in Tommy Robinson and his fellows.
    To the extent that Islamic ideology and culture is insulated from criticism and Britain continues to Islamicize, there will be more and more antisemitism in Britain, and freedom will decrease.

    • R Russell says

      Jun 22, 2019 at 6:53 pm

      Jewdog,
      Let’s not forget what YHWH said – “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
      Many believe the UK lost the Empire because they reneged on what the said they would do.
      You don’t go against YHWH God with impunity.
      He gives the choice and consequences belong to the people he is speaking to.

      However, the whole of the UK was not anti-Semitic.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Scotland
      Our association with England didn’t do us any good.
      The BDS movement is very active in Scotland today and the SNP only seems to recognise one ideology/religion.
      You only need to look at the number of Nobel Prize winners who are Jewish/Israeli to recognise how much the world has/is being blessed because of the Jews/Israelis.

  7. James Lincoln says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    By now, we all know that the word “Islamophobe” is a nonsensical word created by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to shut down factual evidence-based discussion regarding Islam. They used “homophobe” as a template, fully knowing that there is no rational reason to fear the average homosexual. Very clever, I’ll give them that.

    But no matter how much and how often the word is “debunked”, it continues to stick. I guess the word just has a kind of “ring” to it.

    There’s a good case to say that the word should be embraced by the anti-Jihad community. It indeed would lose its power just like the overuse of the word “racist”, etc.

    After all, the good Robert Spencer titled one of his books “Confessions of an Islamophobe.”

    And if it’s good enough for Robert Spencer…

  8. mortimer says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    THE PARLIAMENTARIANS OF THE UK HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS BEFORE IN 2005. The facts are about the Islamophobia-SLANDER are already on the table.

    Comic Rowan Atkinson addressed the Lords in 2005 and said this about ‘incitement to religious hatred’:

    “What is wrong with encouraging ‘intense dislike’ of a religion? Why shouldn’t you do that, if the beliefs of that religion or the activities perpetrated in its name deserve to be intensely disliked? What if the teaching or beliefs of the religion are so out-moded, hypocritical and hateful that not expressing criticism of them would be perverse? The government claim that one would be allowed to say what you like about beliefs because the measure is not intended to defend beliefs but believers. But I don’t see how you can distinguish between them. Beliefs are only invested with life and meaning by believers. If you attack beliefs, you are automatically attacking those who believe the beliefs. You wouldn’t need to criticise the beliefs if no-one believed them.
    The ‘Islamophobia’ slander-word is an excuse for censorship and is a ‘big lie’ implying that one should not criticize a supremacist political ideology (Islamism), because the apologists of that supremacist ideology may have hurt feelings.”

    Note: The ‘Islamophobia’ slander-word is an excuse for censorship and is a ‘big lie’ implying that one should not criticize a supremacist political ideology (Islamism), because the apologists of that supremacist ideology may have hurt feelings.

  9. Michael Copeland says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 1:39 pm

    Sajid Javid noted that there was a “concern [about] growing anti-Muslim hatred”.
    Is it the hatred he objects to?

    “Muslims in the West must have an attitude of enmity and hatred of the kaffirs” …. islamqa.com
    “You should hate them, disown them and their religion”…. Alminbar.com
    “No one loves the kuffaar. We hate kuffaar” …..Abu Usama, B’ham, Undercover Mosque C4
    “As a muslim I must have hatred for every-thing non-Islam” …. Anjem Choudary Newsnight
    “Battle, animosity, and hatred” …. Osama bin Laden
    “You must love the muslims and hate the kuffaar” …. muslimsagainstvoting

    There is a recurrent theme there.

    • Rufolino says

      Jun 23, 2019 at 5:23 am

      The recurrent theme being that Moslems brazenly turn everything on its head to suit their purposes. And they succeed because no one dares say boo…

  10. Spiro says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    So does this mean they will investigate
    Christophobia committed by Muslims
    after all their doing all they can to protect Islam
    But we all know they will sell their soul
    for power and status

  11. tgusa says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 5:58 pm

    The western political class would never dream of getting to the bottom of just why so many non muslim westerners are extremely concerned with the advance islamic doctrine in their communities and country. Most western politicals have their heads in the sand regarding that. Western politicals will never have a solution to the problem because they are indeed, part of the problem. Ignoring a problem doesn’t make that problem just go away. Thanks to western politicals I have developed an extreme case of western political fatigue. Western politicals and their extreme blindness to everything that is right in front of their eyes have become annoyingly tiresome.

    My question is, when the truth eventually becomes undeniable where do these non muslim politicals think they will be able to live? They wont be accepted in islamville and what they have engaged in is far beyond what is enough to get them banished from non islamville. They are behaving a lot like Judas.

  12. gravenimage says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 8:27 pm

    Tory Candidates All Agree That “Islamophobia” In Their Party Must Be Investigated (Part One)
    …………………

    I’m sorry to see even Boris Johnson spouting appeasement here.

  13. Shirley Ann says

    Jun 22, 2019 at 9:07 pm

    It appears that the Tory Candidates, like their Labour Brothers, have Sold-Out the British People, for their So-Called Political Careers. The Horrid Word, Islamophobia has replaced Racism, as the Career Basis for Failure or Success. How could this Insanity have been foisted on us, so Easily?

  14. Frank Anderson says

    Jun 23, 2019 at 5:20 am

    If an investigation were truly “honest” the conclusion would be that there is no such thing as islamophobia and that it is nothing more than a propaganda tool to suppress truthful statements, observation and analysis of a criminal conspiracy to conquer the world through violence. But we have NOTHING to worry about. The results of this and any other investigation is fixed before it starts. All of the propaganda purveyors of the 19th and 20th centuries will be thrilled at the massive success of their teachings. Lie. Lie. Lie, and keep on Lying so that the whole idea of truth is buried under an avalanche of lies. When the choice is between who will lie less between 2 liars, a sad time is bound to follow.

  15. Megan says

    Jun 23, 2019 at 8:49 am

    It is a perfect tactic to conflate Anti Muslim hatred (hating someone simply because they are a Muslim) with criticism of their religion and that is exactly what they are doing with the word “Islamophobia” & almost everyone has fallen for it.

  16. John Allan says

    Jun 23, 2019 at 9:10 am

    MUST be investigated? BS! Britain is a Christian country, not an Islamic one. If Muslims don’t like it that way, they should f__k off back to Islamland.

  17. John Allan says

    Jun 23, 2019 at 9:20 am

    ‘… Javid said, noting that there was a “concern [about] growing anti-Muslim hatred in our country, certainly over the last few years, in all parts of society. And, wherever that is, including in political parties …’

    There is? Heaven forbid! I do wonder what could have been responsible for such a thing?

  18. Jay says

    Jun 23, 2019 at 5:17 pm

    England is LOST! The unfettered invasion by Muslims without acclimation, is destroying their soverignity and identity! Pm Churchill is not resting easy today! After seeing the recent WWII ceremonies, you see what so many gave up for world peace. England and Europe will not exist in ten years at this rate of Muslim invasion and never respecting their host countries!! Leaders like Merkel, Macron, May, etc., have destroyed their countries identities and soverignity to appease the one world order liberal communist progressives .
    Wake up people before it’s too late! The USA and allies will not be able to save them again!
    America has Pres. Trump, who fights every day for our soverignity and way of life!
    Keep America soverign – close the borders to all criminals and illegals! Illegal immigration NEVER works!
    God bless America! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸Trump,2020

    • Frank Anderson says

      Jun 23, 2019 at 9:46 pm

      Jay, illegal immigration/aka invasion works beautifully if your goal is to destroy the country.

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