Enabling Islamophobia has to stop
JVL Introduction
This thoughtful article about how politicians (and others) have enabled Islamophobia is an important read. While those who attacked Mosques in 2024 are criticised and even condemned such abhorrent acts grow out of deeper forces that enable Islamophobia. Use of terms such as “unBritish”, or not compatible with “western values” and, of course “the war on terror”, the Prevent programme and the cries – taken up by Labour as well as Conservatives and Reform to “stop the (small) boats”!. Then there is the welcome to Ukrainian refugees compared with those fleeing Afghanistan to say nothing of other Brown people, mainly Muslim, trapped in Gaza during this ongoing genocide. The attitude to Palestine and the marches is also included here.
We can also note that on the Jewish New Year the Prime Minister posted on social media to wish Jews a Happy New Year but also noting the murderous attack on Heaton Park synagogue and restating the commitment that “Jewish people must be able to live, worship, go to school, attend synagogue and participate fully in British life without fear.” He went on to say that to help achieve that “we are investing more than £250 million to increase policing, improve community safety and tackle rising antisemitism…[and also that they] have established a Cabinet committee on antisemitism, bringing departments together to ensure our response is coordinated, comprehensive and sustained.” In addition £7 million is being allocated to teach about antisemitism in schools.
Of course this was an announcement for a Jewish festival but there is nothing like this investment in the more widespread and more violent Islamophobia and, to my knowledge, no special Cabinet Committee.
Like me the writer has no issue with addressing antisemitism, but none of us will be helped by creating a hierarchy of racism, that ignores the different ways that people of colour are treated than are white people but such an approach leads to further divisions rather than creating the opportunities for working together for a society based on justice and equality.
This article was originally published by The Guardian on Mon 14 Sep 2026. Read the original here.
Islamophobia is rising – and Britain’s politicians have been dangerously complacent in tackling it
Mainstream figures have been enabling anti-Muslim racism, creating the ideal conditions for the rise of hard-right political parties
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Historically muslims have been persecuted. The crusades have seen mass killings of muslims and jews, The Spanish inquisition there were forced conversions, expulsions etc..In more modern times if you look at Myanmar, China, Bosnia, Balkan Wars the list goes on.
Many European Nations have founded their ideology on this white supremacy and ‘dark races’ as savages. The US had ‘The Birth of a Nation; 1915. A offensive piece of work but that mentality exists today.
Legacy capitalist media have played their role in this rhetoric. In fact they have created and controlled it for years and so it becomes indoctrinated into the thinking of those that simply go with what they are told, absent of evidence to support their thinking.
The Embassy Siege in Tehran is a good example – viewers saw angry men and veiled women chanting. ‘Islam out of Control’ was one of the headlines. Religious fanaticism another. But where was the reporting on years of US interference in Iran or the 1953 CIA backed coup to overthrow a democratically elected Prime Minister – Mohammed Mossedegh and to install the authoritarian Shah!
Anti-American, Anti British, Anti European that is how politicians and media in the West control the narrative on Islam. The narrative is persecution of Muslims, because by doing this they can sow seeds of hate on those weak minded flag bearing white supremacists who need someone to blame for the internal failings of their countries and their own problems.
We also forget the interference of CIA, MI5/6 and other European agencies in others countries political affairs, in some cases making them unstable and unsafe, illegal coups etc and ‘migrants’ having to leave.
People are being radicalised by media to hate/dislike muslims without ever having a first hand experience of Islam o Muslims.