SHAFAQNA- British Muslims have said they fear for their future under Boris Johnson‘s Conservative Party, following his win in the general election. The prime minister and his party have been accused of propagating and ignoring Islamophobia, both during the election campaign and before.
Britain’s Conservative Party and Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a majority in Parliament on Friday, winning an election that pitted Johnson’s plan to “get Brexit done” against opposition parties who wanted to delay Britain’s departure from the European Union or even cancel it altogether. The victory makes Johnson the most electorally successful Conservative leader since Margaret Thatcher and is a disaster for left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who was already facing calls for his resignation, usatoday told.
As of Friday morning U.K. time, 649 of 650 seats had been declared. The Conservatives held 364, well over the number needed to guarantee it will form a majority government, Time mentioned.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has called on the Prime Minister – who has been personally accused of Islamophobia – to reassure British Muslims of their place in Britain.
The MCB is the UK’s largest Muslim campaign organisation.
Muslim communities in UK describe Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim rhetoric in the U.K., job markets, discrimination at the workplace and education as ‘main issue’ to be tackled by Boris Johnson government.
Zainab Gulamali, public affairs manager of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said the main concern of British Muslims about this election according to a survey they have conducted is Islamophobia, told Anadolu Agency.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t see this kind of commitment especially on Islamophobia in the Conservative Party manifesto,” she said.
“As we know, the Conservative Party has an institutional and widespread problem with Islamophobia that it has consistently failed to tackle.”
The warning came as Baroness Warsi, a former Tory co-chair and cabinet minister, said the party “must start healing its relationship with British Muslims”.
In a tweet, she added: “Endorsements from #TommyRobinson & #KatieHopkins & colleagues retweeting both is deeply disturbing. Independent Inquiry into #Islamophobia is a must first step. The battle to root out racism must now intensify”, The Independent reported.
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB, said that as the Tory party celebrated their win, there was a ‘palpable sense of fear’ among Muslim communities around the country. He said “We entered the election campaign period with long standing concerns about bigotry in our politics and our governing party. Now we worry that Islamophobia is ‘oven-ready’ for government. Mr Johnson has been entrusted with huge power, and we pray it is exercised responsibly for all Britons”, according to metro.
Dozens of party members, including councillors, former councillors and parliamentary candidates, have been accused of making, sharing or endorsing anti-Muslim comments online, The National mentioned.
During the election campaign Mr Johnson came under fire for his past description of women wearing niqabs as looking like “letterboxes”, and was accused of personally contributing to rampant racism in Britain. He countered by saying he was “mounting a strong liberal defence of the right of women in this country to wear what they choose”.
On Friday morning as he gave his victory speech, the prime minister made a point of insisting his new government would be a “one-nation” body working “literally for everyone from Woking to Workington, from Kensington, I’m proud to say, to Clwyd South, from Surrey Heath to Sedgefield, from Wimbledon to Wolverhampton”.
Muslims in the UK feel “isolated” and are “talked to but not spoken to properly,” and the Muslim community — the second biggest and fastest growing religious group in the country — should have more representatives in the political arena.