The front-runner to lead the government’s fight against Islamophobia has pulled out because of the level of abuse he has received.
Fiyaz Mughal, who founded the organisation Tell MAMA, which campaigns against Islamophobia, said the abuse escalated when his name was linked with the role and said, “I couldn’t take it any more.”
Downing Street has criticised the abuse Mr. Mughal received.
The prime minister’s spokesman said on Monday, “The reported abuse that the individual you cite suffered is obviously unacceptable and it demonstrates exactly why we do need to tackle those who are using hatred and intimidation in order to influence our democratic processes.”
Mr. Mughal, who withdrew from the process on Friday, said he was not convinced the government was committed to the task, considering his role was for only two days a month.
Mr. Mughal said: “They were asking me to be the interlocutor between Muslim communities and the government. That needs really good, consistent engagement work out in the field. They were asking me to do it for two days at £540. So for £1,080, that I can get sitting on the dole, they’re expecting me to go and put myself right in the heart of it. How serious are they taking this issue?”
“I’m angry because the government has been saying for decades, ‘where are the British Muslims speaking out?’ When we speak out, we are left to our own devices. The impact on our personal and professional lives is enormous,” he added.
Later this week the Communities Secretary Michael Gove is due to announce a new government definition of extremism.
Home Office to Spend £117 Million Protecting Muslims
On Monday the Home Office said it was earmarking £117 million of public money to protect mosques, Muslim schools, and community centres from attacks over the next four years.Home Secretary James Cleverly said the money would be spent on CCTV cameras and fences and would give “reassurance and confidence to UK Muslims.”
The sum is more than the £70 million the government gave to Jewish groups after a spike in anti-Semitism which followed the start of the Israel–Hamas conflict on Oct. 7.
On Monday, three former home secretaries—Dame Priti Patel, Sir Sajid Javid, and Amber Rudd—were among signatories to a statement which urged both the Conservatives and Labour to “work together to build a shared understanding” of how to respond to both Islamists and the far-right.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat responded by telling Sky News: “We’re making sure that extremism doesn’t spread hatred in our community. Now, of course we need ideas, of course we need a challenge of thought, but what we also need to do is make sure that people are safe in our country, and that they’re not led down the path of radicalisation.”
