News Desk l
According to news posted in the Guardian, former British-Pakistani minister Sayeeda Hussain Warsi has said that hate speech and Islamophobia have become a “plague” in British newspapers and asked for a parliamentary investigation into the issue.
Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, is a British lawyer, politician, and member of the House of Lords. From 2010-12, she was co-chair of the Conservative Party. She served in David Cameron’s Cabinet, first as the Minister without a portfolio between 2010-12, then as the Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as the Minister of State for Faith and Communities, until her resignation citing her disagreement with the Government’s policy on the Israel–Gaza conflict in August 2014.
The British government must take Warsi’s words seriously to tackle the hatred being spread against Muslims to ensure peaceful co-existence of all communities in the UK.
Warsi stated, “In sections of our press, it is relentless and deliberate. Steadily and methodically using paper inches and columns to create, feed and ratchet up suspicions and hostilities in our society, driving communities apart and creating untold – and unnecessary – fear and distress.
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Poisoning our public discourse, making it almost impossible to have sensible discussions about real challenges, crowding out tolerance, reason, and understanding.
And this drip-drip approach has created a toxic environment where hate crime is the highest it has been since records began.”
“This is true not just of two or three notorious dailies, but also of papers some still regard as responsible and ethical. Anti-Muslim hate speech is becoming a regular feature even in the more ‘respectable’ parts of the press and that’s why it is becoming more dangerous.
The British government must take Warsi’s words seriously to tackle the hatred being spread against Muslims to ensure peaceful co-existence of all communities in the UK.
“Islamophobia is Britain latest bigotry blind spot. It’s where the respectable rationalize bigotry, couch it in intellectual argument and present it as public interest or honest opinion that allows the rot of xenophobia to set in.”
Warsi also slammed newspapers running bigoted and sensational headlines against Muslims, saying she was shocked by the headline “1 in 5 Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis” in the Sun in 2015.
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The British government must take Warsi’s words seriously to tackle the hatred being spread against Muslims to ensure peaceful co-existence of all communities in the UK. “It pandered to bigoted stereotypes, was extraordinarily irresponsible and most shockingly was untrue.”
Warsi’s statements come in the wake of several attacks in Europe, which are said to have been perpetrated by ISIS. Moreover, Europe is also witnessing a rise of right-wing parties which has led to an increase in Islamophobia. A certain section of western media is also spreading anti-Muslim propaganda that has resulted in an upsurge in attacks against Muslims. The British government must take Warsi’s words seriously to tackle the hatred being spread against Muslims to ensure peaceful co-existence of all communities in the UK.