Tory unease as Sayeeda Warsi hits at spread of Islamophobia

BRITAIN’S most senior Muslim politician provoked discomfort in Tory ranks yesterday with an outspoken warning about the spread of anti-Islamic bigotry in Britain.

Baroness Warsi s speech was not cleared by Number 10 Baroness Warsi’s speech was not cleared by Number 10

In a controversial speech last night, Tory chairman Baroness Sayeeda Warsi claimed that “Islamophobia” had “now crossed the threshold of middle-class respectability”.

She also urged against talking about “moderate” and “extremist” Muslims, arguing that making the distinction fostered intolerance.

“For far too many people, Islamophobia is seen as a legitimate, even commendable, thing. You could even say that Islamophobia has now passed the dinner-table test,” she said in a speech at Leicester University.

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Her remarks caused surprise among many Tories yesterday.

Downing Street aides distanced themselves from her speech, and one source said Mr Cameron had not approved the remarks in advance.

Former Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit called on her to observe “a period of silence”. Lord Tebbit, an outspoken critic of multiculturalism, wrote on his internet blog: “I would have told her that the Muslim faith was not discussed over the dinner tables of England, nor in the saloon bars, before large numbers of Muslims came here to our country.”

Lady Warsi, the first Muslim woman to attend Cabinet, said her speech was designed to “make the case against the rising tide of anti-religious bigotry”.

She warned that prejudice was growing against Muslims in Britain.

“When people get on the Tube and see a bearded Muslim, they think ‘terrorist’, when they hear ‘Halal’ they think ‘that sounds like contaminated food’ and when they walk past a woman wearing a veil, they think automatically ‘that woman’s oppressed’. And what’s particularly worrying is that this can lead down the slippery slope to violence.

“The British battle against bigotry will always be an ongoing battle and, sadly, at no point does it totally disappear.

“And now a Muslim woman is a member of a British Cabinet – but a British citizen today can still be attacked for merely wearing a headscarf as part of her religious observance.”

The Muslim Council of Britain welcomed her speech.

Secretary general Farooq Murad said: “We particularly welcome Baroness Warsi’s acknowledgement of the role the media plays in this process of normalising Islamophobia.

“Islamophobia is the number one concern of all Muslims in this country.”

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: “Every right-minded person is against Islamophobia. But what the British people want to see is immigrant communities adapting to the British way of life rather than expecting UK citizens to adapt to them.”

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