Muslims are backing Lily Allen in a row with a ‘counter-extremist’ on Twitter

Lily Allen / Maajid Nawaz
Support us and go ad-free

Musician Lily Allen has been fending off trolls after she got into a debate about ‘Asian grooming gangs’ on Twitter. It started when Allen described a report by anti-extremism thinktank Quilliam as “utterly useless”, based on critique she had read elsewhere:

The founder of the organisation, Maajid Nawaz, didn’t take too kindly to Allen’s criticism:

Read on...

And Allen ended up blocking Nawaz’s account:

The Muslim response

Muslim Twitter has, by and large, sided with Allen. Not least because both Quilliam and Nawaz have lost credibility within the Muslim community:

Critique

While Nawaz accused Allen of abusing her “privilege”, he’s had little to say in response to critique of the report in question:

The bigger picture

Ultimately, Allen went on to clarify her motives for sharing concerns about the report:

Also, and quite importantly, Allen reminded us that systemic abuse of women and children is not limited to any particular culture:

Twitter beef certainly has its entertainment value, especially when a celebrity is involved. But this time, it was positive to see that Allen used her platform to spread an anti-racist message.

You may not be my saviour, Lily Allen, but I’d invite you for chai over Maajid Nawaz any day of the week.

Get Involved!

– Support The Canary if you appreciate the work we do.

Featured image via YouTube / eregis – Wikimedia

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Comments are closed