Zarah Sultana: Islamophobia used to demonise Palestine solidarity
source: TRIBUNE
published: 28 February 2024
Image Credit: Pexels/Duda
"Get the f*** out of my country. You don’t belong here. No Muslims do."
That was the opening of an email I received the other day. I have had to get used to things like this. My first death threat came through just a few weeks after I became the youngest ever Muslim MP. So I have more reason than most to take MPs’ safety seriously. And to be crystal clear, no-one should have their safety threatened or be subject to unacceptable abuse.
But I am concerned that the debate about public engagement with MPs is being used by some as a pretext to demonise the Palestine solidarity movement, whipping up Islamophobia in the process. After the farce in Parliament last Wednesday, Suella Braverman wrote that "Islamists are now in charge" of Britain.
Later that day, Robert Jenrick told the House of Commons that "we have allowed our streets to be dominated by Islamist extremists." And Lee Anderson took to the airwaves, saying "Islamist have got control of Sadiq Khan, they’ve got control of London… He’s given our capital away to his mates."
After three months of destruction, displacement and the killing of Palestinians, we take a deep dive into the way the Gaza story has been covered.
When these Conservatives depict the Palestine solidarity movement as ‘Islamist’, they seek to portray it as violent and extreme. They suggest this unprecedented public mobilisation for Palestine is alien and undemocratic. Unfortunately for them, the demands of the Palestine solidarity movement — an immediate ceasefire and an end to the slaughter in Gaza — are supported by a large majority of the British public, as opinion polls repeatedly show.
share this article on social media
