56% of Tory members see Islam as a ‘threat to the British way of life’, according to Channel 4 poll

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On 8 July, Channel 4 released Dispatches: Battle For The Tory Party. And the documentary revealed disturbing statistics suggesting that Islamophobia in the party is endemic. As Dispatches tweeted:

 

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In June 2019, a poll from anti-racism group HOPE not hate revealed similar results, showing that:

Just 8% of members agreed that “I would be proud of Britain if we were to elect a Muslim as our Prime Minister”, while 43% agreed that “I would prefer to not have the country led by a Muslim

67% of people in that poll also believed there are areas of Britain that operate under Sharia Law. And 45% thought “there are areas in Britain in which non-Muslims are not able to enter”.

Dispatches, meanwhile, also reported finding numerous Islamophobic posts online from apparent members of the Conservative Party:

Conservative Central Office told Dispatches that “discrimination or abuse of any kind is wrong and will not be tolerated”.

These are the people who’ll be choosing the next prime minister

Other revealing results from the show’s polling, meanwhile, included that:

  • “46% of party members do think concerns about climate change are exaggerated”.
  • “54% of party members thought Donald Trump would make a good Prime Minister”.
  • “58% of party members thought the death penalty should be allowed for certain crimes”.
  • “42% thought having people from a wide variety of racial and cultural backgrounds has damaged British Society”.
  • “49% said schools shouldn’t be required to educate kids about LGBT relationships”.
  • “51% thought most people on benefits could get a job if they tried hard enough”.

In short, around half of the Tory members polled appeared to be Islamophobic, racist, classist, homophobic, authoritarian Trump fans who don’t trust 97% of “actively publishing climate scientists” on the world’s climate crisis.

As Dispatches pointed out, meanwhile, “almost half of the members are now over 65, 71% are male and 97% are white”.

‘No tolerance for discrimination’? Really?

In 2001, Andrew Lansley, who later became a Conservative secretary of state for health, said:

There is endemic racism in the Tory party. It is in the system.

Since then, however, it seems little has changed. Because in 2016, Unite – Britain’s biggest union – backed this ‘endemic racism’ accusation up with a long list of evidence. This included current leadership hopeful Boris Johnson’s racist and derogatory description of people of African origin as “piccaninnies” with “watermelon smiles” in a 2002 column for the Daily Telegraph.

In 2018, meanwhile, the Conservative Muslim Forum (officially affiliated to the governing party) and over 350 mosques joined calls for an official inquiry into Islamophobia within the Conservative Party. The Muslim Council of Britain has also repeatedly asked the party to investigate alleged Islamophobia in its ranks. And former Conservative chairman Baroness Warsi has been an outspoken critic of Tory Islamophobia.

As HOPE not hate reported in June 2019, though:

Only 15% of members think the Conservative Party should be doing more to combat any Islamophobia or other racism within the party, compared to 76% of members who think the party is “already doing all it reasonably can to combat Islamophobia and other racism within the party”.

This is serious, even if the corporate media won’t make it front-page news

There has long been corporate media uproar over accusations of antisemitism in the Labour Party, which reportedly relate to 0.1% of the party’s 540,000-strong membership. Coverage has been so exaggerated, academics concluded in 2018, that reporting essentially became a “disinformation paradigm”. With this environment in mind, just imagine if a poll of Labour members had found that as many as 56% ‘agreed that Judaism is a threat to the British way of life’. But because it’s Islam and the Conservative Party in question, we probably won’t be seeing much corporate media coverage of Channel 4‘s latest findings. That’s why it’s on all of us to spread the news ourselves – so everyone knows just who is going to be picking our next prime minister.

Featured image via screenshot and Wikimedia Commons

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  • Show Comments

    1. In this context, it shows how much the “antisemitism” row in Labour is an example of “white privilege” even if there were actual examples that were not criticisms of Israel or provoked by Israel’s actions.

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    3. What do you expect from the Tory members of parliament who are the product of British education system which made them stupid, selfish and corrupt. Tory Party as well as the native Brits must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. A Muslim is obliged to respect and tolerate those who are different.

      The number of Muslims is on the increase because of never ending immigration, high birth rate and conversion. There will never be an end to immigration because of low birth rate and ageing population. There is no alternative left for the native Brits but to respect and tolerate them for their own survival.
      IA
      http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

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      1. British society and schooling is the home of institutional racism and native teachers are chicken racists. What do you expect from such a society.

        Native Brits must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. Stop treating foreigners like garbage and they will stop ruining your precious country. Why did you let them in in the first place if you didn’t want them here? They left everything in their countries because of your promises. Are you so anxious to please that you can’t say “no”? I would love to see you go to a foreign land where you don’t have any friends, you don’t even know anyone and you don’t speak the language, and start from scratch. I would just LOVE to watch you do that. Let them integrate and stop segregating them. What I want is people being nice to each other. I don’t care about race.

        The problems of racism in the school system and wider society are permanent features of Western society and will become more entrenched and institutionalised. On this basis it is time to build a new kind of education, which can equip students with the necessary instrumental skills to participate in society; that does not prejudice experience of Muslim young people; and one that critically engages with the endemic racism present in British society. Developing an education from a Muslim critical perspective can be a part of mounting a significant challenge to the racism that lies at the heart of British society.

        Speaking English does not promote integration into British, American and Australian societies, and broaden opportunities. English speaking Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist, thanks to state schools with monolingual non-Muslim teachers and English language. English language is not only a lingua franca but also lingua frankensteinia. Human right are also covers linguistic right. Cultural and linguistic genocide are very common. British schooling is murdering community languages like Arabic, Urdu and others. English is today the world killer language. Linguistic genocide is a crime against humanity and British schooling is guilty of committing this crime. Language is not just a language. It defines one’s culture, identity and consciousness. It defines how we think, communicate and express ourselves. The fact is the most South Asian Muslims have come to know Islam by way of Urdu, the children’s alienation from the language that connects them the heritage of their parents and grandparents is disturbing. As a matter of fact, one has to get to know his mother tongue well if one is to master any other language.

        A report by the Institute for Community Cohesion found that native parents were deserting some schools after finding their children out numbered by pupils from ethnic minorities. Schools in parts of England are becoming increasingly segregated. The study focused on 13 local authorities. Many of the schools and colleges are segregated and this was generally worsening over recent years. This is RACISM because British society is the home of institutional racism. My statement regarding Muslim schools where there is no place for non-Muslim child or a teacher is based on educational process and not on racism. Muslim children need Muslim teachers during their developmental periods. For higher studies and research, Muslim teacher is not a priority.

        A study claims that Black and Asian pupils are being held back in the classroom because schools are “intuitionally racist”. Let the minority communities educate their own children and you better educate your children for the well being of the British society. Islamic schools protect Muslim children from the onslaught of Euro-centrism, homosexuality, racism, and secular traditions.

        It is easy to say” Go back to where you came from”, but do not forget that British Muslims are actually born and educated here. They are in the unenviable position of trying to combine two different worlds. That is no easy. We do not want to change you lot but we would like to see our children getting balanced Islamic education along with National Curriculum. We would like our children to learn and be well versed in standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. At the same time we would like our children to learn and be well versed in Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to become notoriously monolingual Brit. Bilingualism is an asset but British schooling regards it as a problem.

        During colonial days, British did not follow local customs or culture. They didn’t exactly “go native”. They even forced the native Americans and native Australian to adopt all the evils of their culture and customs. They are still the underdogs of American and Australian societies. At least Australian Prime Minister apologised to the natives for their evil deeds. Brits living in Spain and France don’t even bother learning the language of the new adopted country. Frankly suggesting that people don’t want to become “British” they should move elsewhere is extremely irritating. Immigrants are in UK because they are needed, it was never an act of charity. Without migration, British economy and society will bleed to death. British culture and customs will undoubtedly change as it has for millennium due to immigration. I am not quite sure why Brits would be worried about that.
        IA
        http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

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