Via Herald Scotland:
Scotland’s only Muslim MP last night backed warnings from a Tory cabinet minister that Islamophobia has become more widespread and socially acceptable in Britain.
(...)
Anas Sarwar, who represents Glasgow Central and is the son of Mohammad Sarwar, the first Muslim to be elected to the House of Commons in 1997, said that the peer’s comments were to be welcomed.
Asked about the “dinner table test”, the Labour MP said: “There is no doubt that there has been a rise in Islamophiobia in this country since 9/11, the war in Iraq and the 7/7 bombings.
“We have got to make sure that we are not complacent about this, just as we should not be complacent about any other kind of racism.”
Mr Sarwar agreed with her it was dangerous to divide Muslims into moderates and extremists.
“It is wrong to divide any community into two groups or any other number of groups”, he said.
But he said he thought there was still a place for the word “extremist”.
(source)
Via Bradford Telegraph and Argus:
Muslim leaders in Bradford have backed a politician’s claims that prejudice against Muslims has “passed the dinner-table test” and become widely socially acceptable in Britain.
(...)
The Bradford Council for Mosques agreed that Muslims had a negative image in British society. A spokesman said: “The entire British Muslim community gets blamed for the misguided actions of a few. The gross misconceptions about Islam make British Muslims an easy target for blame.
“Against this background, the Muslim community is not taken seriously and its enormous contribution and achievements are dismissed.
“There need to be efforts on all sides to improve understanding of the Muslim way of life and Muslim contributions to the British society.
"The Muslim leadership must continue to distance themselves from the minority elements that may resort to violent or extremist game plans to achieve their misguided and unrepresentative goals."
(source)
