We see yet again the tabloid press abetting right-wing propaganda against innocent Muslims in this latest unashamedly Islamophobic instalment by Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun on 13th of August 2017 in which he writes:
“But there is one unspoken fear, gagged by political correctness, which links Britain and the rest of Europe. The common denominator, almost unsayable until last week’s furore over Pakistani sex gangs, is Islam. Thanks to former equalities chief Trevor Phillips, and Labour MPs such as Rotherham’s Sarah Champion, it is acceptable to say Muslims are a specific rather than a cultural problem” [Emphasis added].
Trevor Kavanagh in The Sun on 13th of August 2017
He ends the article by writing: “What will we do about The Muslim Problem then?”
We continue to be staggered by the intellectual dishonesty of both Mr Kavanagh and the likes of The Sun Newspaper affording the horrific actions of a band of criminals to the teachings of Islam which, in this case, is replete and unequivocal in its prohibition and condemnation of sexual contact outside of marriage. If Mr Kavanagh wishes to lay bare untold ignorance vis-a-vis Islam, he only need purchase a copy of the Qur’an or step into a mosque. If on the other hand he is versed in Islamic teachings (as all who speak publicly about Islam ought to be), yet overrides all journalistic integrity to deliberately pedal hatred towards a religion, can there be anything but a systematic agenda at play, and in keeping with recent untruths promulgated by The Sun? “1 in 5 Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis”; “‘Fasting’ Ramadan Train Driver In Crash”; “‘Islamic’ honour killing of mum”.
Do Islamophobes truly consider degenerate gangs of Pakistani men as the embodiment of Islam? Not only has the Asian community been disproportionately singled out and blamed for the actions of a criminal element, the discriminatory and deliberate stereotypical assumption here of course is that all Muslims are Asian to better serve the demonization of Islam and Muslims.
The Bradford Labour MP, Naz Shah in The Independent article “argued that nearly 90 per cent of child abusers are white men, but “we wouldn’t suggest that white people ‘are raping children’ and or use the whole community to describe the actions of a few criminals”.
We will not say that the above represents the White Community, neither will we say that the march by the Right-Wing and the KKK in Charlottesville in USA represents the White, Christian Community and rightly so. It is unfortunate that this focus and preoccupation with scrutinising the statements and actions of Muslims only leaves Far Right and Islamophobic narratives to go disturbingly unchecked. The reference to the “Muslim Problem” comes on the back of a similar statement by Katie Hopkins not too long ago making reference to a “final solution” in dealing with Muslims. This clearly harks back to Nazi Germany and the horrifying thought now fomenting well above the surface are conditions making possible another holocaust, this time the Muslim community. The Guardian’s Martin Rowson’s “Read The Sun and Daily Mail” Finsbury Park terror attack van cartoon is frightening illustration of the hateful consequences of hate speech.
It isn’t so much what is to be done about “The Muslim Problem” as #TheMurdochProblem and The Sun’s outrage at the objectification and sexual abuse of vulnerable girls by criminal gangs, while profiting handsomely equally from the sexual objectification of women awash on its pages even as it welcomed the “Dalektable” Jodie Whittaker with nude photos of the first female Doctor Who.
This of course is the same paper which waged a vicious campaign of lies and smears against the victims of the 1989 Hillsborough football disaster which saw the people of Liverpool take the principled stance of boycotting the paper – we would urge the Muslim community and every British woman to do likewise.
The Trustees of the LIC will be raising a complaint with IPSO to investigate Mr Trevor Kavanagh’s comments despite him enjoying pride of place on the IPSO board. We will also be reporting the matter as Hate Speech to the Police.