British Media's Depiction Of Muslims Got 'Much Worse': UK Member Of The House Of Lords Sayeeda Warsi

01 May 2018

Various Agencies

The way some British media depicts Islam and Muslims negatively is much worse than it was in 2011, former Tory co-chair and member of the House of Lords Sayeeda Warsi said Tuesday.

Providing evidence to the House of Commons' Home Affairs Committee on "hate crime and its violent consequences", Warsi said British Muslims were constantly targeted by certain print media outlets.

"I could spend hours and hours on negative depiction by the written press," she said.

Warsi said low-level poisoning via negatively written stories was now a "daily occurrence".

Chris Frost, the chairman of the National Union of Journalists, said the "problem is a large-scale" problem now.

Frost told the committee that some of the evidence he gathered was appalling, namely how some editors instructed their reporters to write stories in a particular way.

"One of the best ways of selling newspapers is making people believe that there is a risk. Because of the ISIS [Daesh], Muslims are the group targeted," he said.

Frost underlined that as much as 64 percent of the British public received information about Islam and Muslims through the media, most not seeking any further information.

"It is vitally important for newspapers to know what they are talking about," he said.

Both Warsi and Frost also drew attention to the fact that the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) was "not fit for purpose" to handle complaints about fake anti-Muslim stories.

Warsi said reporters could not get away with homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic reports but the situation regarding antı-Muslim reporting is "much worse than it used to be in 2011".

"IPSO allows discrimination against a certain group. It should re-think about their role," she said.

- Fear

Warsi told the committee that young Muslim girls wearing headscarves and easily identifiable as Muslims are now standing by the walls in tube stations with the fear of being pushed on the rails.

"I did not think we would still have a debate about the headscarf in 2018," she said.

Frost also pointed out that the negative Muslim coverage by the national print media encouraged individual blog writers to do the same.

"Especially the tabloids choose those stories deliberately because they know it would sell," he said.

The committee also heard that some anti-Muslim stories that appeared on online versions of certain outlets, such as the Daily Mail, were quickly picked up by far-right figures and went viral.

Baroness Warsi urged the prime minister and the leader of the opposition party to give a major speech about Muslims' contribution to the U.K.

Anti-Muslim attacks in the U.K. spiked after deadly terror attacks in Manchester and London Bridge last year, according to official figures.

Racist letter campaign targets Muslim lawmakers in UK

British police investigated the receipt of a racist letter in a suspicious package to a Muslim lawmaker on Tuesday, one day after two other Muslim lawmakers said they received similar packages.

An assistant to opposition Labour lawmaker Rupa Huq told dpa by telephone that her office in the House of Commons, parliament's elected chamber, had received a suspicious package on Tuesday.

"It was dealt with by the parliamentary police," the assistant said, adding that staff were evacuated from the office for a short time.

He said he could not confirm a BBC report quoting other members of Huq's staff as saying the package contained a sticky liquid and an "Islamophobic" letter.

In a later tweet, Huq said one member of her staff had been treated in hospital "as he handled the irritant substance," but he was discharged later Tuesday.

"There is a definite pattern," she said, after two other Muslim lawmakers reported receiving similar packages on Monday.

Muslim groups warned last week of a campaign of racist "punish a Muslim" letters received by Muslims in several British cities.

Huq confirmed that she had received "the letter that did the rounds at the weekend," adding that it was a "scary experience."

"[It is] totally unacceptable for Muslim MPs to face this," she said.

Huq posted a photograph of the letter, which urges people to hold a "punish a Muslim day on April 3" and perform anti-Muslim acts ranging from verbal abuse, physical attacks, murder and setting fire to mosques.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were investigating "reports of a suspicious package at Norman Shaw Buildings" inside the parliamentary compound on Tuesday.

"Specialist officers are on scene and the package is being assessed," the police said in a statement, adding that "a second package at the same location is also being assessed."

Another Muslim Labour lawmaker, Rushanara Ali, tweeted late Monday that she "had the extremely unpleasant experience of opening an envelope with [the] very same threatening letter."

A third Muslim member of parliament from the party, Mohammad Yasin, said he also received a package on Monday.

"I have been contacted by a number of people who are worried about the racist literature that was sent to my office today," Yasin wrote on Facebook.

"Everyone is safe and well; one member of my Westminster team was checked over at the hospital as a precaution," he wrote.

Labour's Yasmin Qureshi asked an urgent question in parliament on Monday on the racist letters.

"These letters are nothing short of a sick and cowardly attempt to divide our communities," Labour's Rosena Allin-Khan said in the debate following Qureshi's question.

The Muslim Council of Britain said the letters had "caused deep distress and alarm."

"Sadly, it is reflective of hate against Muslims which continues to manifest itself alongside the rise of the far-right," said the council, which represents some 2.7 million British Muslims.

In a speech on Monday, London mayor Sadiq Khan gave examples of recent racist abuse he had received on social media, including posts calling him a terrorist and saying he should "blow himself up like they all do." 

©  EsinIslam.Com

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