During the Tory leadership election of 2019, the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid persuaded Boris Johnson to launch an investigation into the Conservative Party’s apparent problem with Muslims. Led by Swaran Singh, an NHS psychiatrist and a former commissioner of the EHRC, it produced some strong findings when it was published in late May. It found that 68 per cent of complaints recorded in CCHQ’s database relate to anti-Muslim discrimination, and that there is “evidence of anti-Muslim sentiment at local association and individual levels.” It also said that Zack Goldsmith’s controversial mayoral campaign against Sadiq Khan in 2016 as well as Boris Johnson’s column comparing Muslim women who wear face-coverings to “letterboxes,” gave “the impression to many that the Party and its leadership are insensitive to Muslim communities.”
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) responded that although the Singh report rightly concludes that “anti-Muslim sentiment remains a problem” within the Conservative Party, the report fails to address institutional Islamophobia. I agree. The problem is even more embedded than the report recognises.
In March 2019, The Guardian revealed that 15 Conservative councillors had their suspensions lifted and were “quietly reinstated” despite displaying Islamophobia and racism. Goldsmith now sits comfortably in the House of Lords. Last year, Craig Whittaker MP blamed Muslims, immigrants and those from the BAME community for a new spike in coronavirus cases. Despite being factually incorrect, he has repeatedly refused to apologise for his statement.
In 2019, Tell MAMA reported a 375 per cent increase in attacks against Muslims, and that 42 per cent of offline Islamophobic incidents directly referenced Boris Johnson and/or the offensive comments he made about Muslim women in his Telegraph column. Of the 1,072 cases, 745 occurred on the streets and 327 were online. An independent panel cleared Johnson of breaking the party’s code in December 2018, despite Muslim women being harassed, threatened and attacked as a direct consequence of his words. The Singh investigation did not challenge this decision, nor push for true accountability.
Johnson told the Singh investigation: “I do know that offence has been taken at things I’ve said… but in journalism, you need to use language freely.” Yet freedom of speech or supposed journalistic flair is no excuse. The report even describes Johnson’s remarks as giving the impression of being “insensitive to Muslim communities.” These words are much more than “insensitive.” They are Islamophobic, and should be called out as such.
Hope Not Hate’s 2019 poll revealed that 57 per cent of Conservative Party members had a negative attitude towards Muslims and 47 per cent believe that Islam is “a threat to the British way of life.” Fifty-eight per cent wrongly believed that “there are no-go areas in Britain where Sharia law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter.” This figure rose to 66 per cent of those who backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 leadership election.
The report highlights the wider issue of discriminatory behaviour. Our national discourse has conditioned Britons to view racism merely as a reflection of personal morality. Arguing that good people are not racist, only bad people are is “a great way of avoiding any real discussion at all,” says Akala, the rapper and activist, and when ignoring structural inequalities “simple acts of personal prejudice would have significantly less meaning.”
The Singh report says “the perception of the problem is greater than the actual prevalence of discriminatory and anti-Muslim attitudes at senior levels of the Party.” On the contrary, acknowledging prejudice at local association and individual levels, but not at an institutional level, has resulted in treating Islamophobia as much less significant than it actually is.
Although the report rightly recommends that party members adhere to the codes of conduct and the Equality Act 2010, and that this should be subject to checks, it does not recommend specific training related to Islam and Muslims. In addition, the report recommends an overhaul of the complaints process to ensure that it is clear and transparent. However, this effort will be fruitless as it will not target the root of Islamophobia.
That said, I do not believe that the party should adopt the All Party Parliamentary Group’s definition, which says Islamophobia is “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” Muslims are not a race and are not homogenous. Anyone can be a Muslim regardless of birthplace or skin colour. Defining Islamophobia as hatred towards those perceived to be Muslims, and Islam as a religion, would be more accurate. Darker-skinned Muslims do have intersectional experiences of Islamophobia and racism. However, as a white-skinned Muslim woman I do not experience racism; I experience Islamophobia. They are not the same thing.
If the Tory Party wishes to have meaningful engagement with Muslims, it needs to start by at least acknowledging institutional Islamophobia and addressing a culture of impunity. Specific training related to Islam and Muslims is essential. Until the party implements such measures, Muslims will still feel alienated from the governing party of a country we call home.
