The equalities’ watchdog decision not to investigate the Conservative Party for Islamophobia has yet again and strikingly reminded Muslims that they are but second-class citizens.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission declared that it did not think it “would not be proportionate” to carry out its own inquiry “for now,” after the Tories “clarified” that it was committed to an independent investigation looking into complaints of discrimination over “religion or belief and significantly Islam.”
Despite the torrent of evidence across all levels, the Tories, in power for the past decade, have been in denial about the extent of anti-Muslim abuse and sentiment within its ranks.
The Party refuses to accept the working definition of Islamophobia that has been adopted by other parties, including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Conservatives.
It wasn’t until the last hustings to elect a new Tory leader that all the candidates backed a fully independent inquiry, but this was quickly reneged on, following Boris Johnson’s victory in December before it was watered down into a much broader internal review.
As pointed out by MCB Secretary-General, Harun Khan, the terms of reference agreed with EHRC were a ‘facade’.
They limit the focus, looking only at the way complaints are handled rather than the extent of racism among its members.
It remains strictly an internal matter with the inquiry being carried out secretly and under the chairmanship of Swaran Singh, a man accused of effectively rewriting the history of Kashmir.
Labour MP Afzal Khan, who vice-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims, has accused the Government of letting down the British Muslim community at every turn.
“Their recent publication of the terms of reference for its inquiry demonstrates that they do not take Islamophobia seriously,” he said. For the past few years, several catalogues of anti-Muslim sentiments and abuse have been submitted to the party to no avail.
In so many issues, it appears that there is one rule for Muslims and another for much of the rest of society.
It seems to be rarely a level playing field as underlined by the latest example of discrimination against the very community ironically seeking to have such prejudices addressed by the Government who rules the country.
The Tories may as well save themselves the time and trouble of going through what is expected to be little more than a damage limitation PR stunt to clear their name in their own terms.
