British-Muslims are uneasy over the return of Boris Johnson to power after landmark victory in December 12 election. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has said it wants Johnson to to reassure Muslims of their future in the UK, according to a report. "We entered the election campaign period with long standing concerns about bigotry in our politics and our governing party. Now we worry that Islamophobia is 'oven-ready' for government, MCB said.
There has been a "palpable sense of fear" among Muslim communities across Britain ever since Johnson's Conservatives romped home to a massive victory in the elections held to break the Brexit gridlock, Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB said. "Johnson has been entrusted with huge power, and we pray it is exercised responsibly for all Britons," Khan said, IANS reported citing UK's Metro.
Johnson, who has been personally accused of Islamophobia, led his party to an 80-seat lead in the House of Commons as he sealed the mandate to take the UK out of the European Union. The Tory victory was the largest for the party since Margaret Thatcher's win in 1987. The Opposition Labour, which was reduced to its worst election tally in decades, has been demanding the scalp of its leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Meanwhile, former Tory Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi said the Conservatives should start healing its relationship with British Muslims. "Independent Inquiry into Islamophobia is a must first step. The battle to root out racism must now intensify," she said.
Boris Johnson and Islamophobia
Monitoring group Tell Mama said in September this year that Johnson's comments on the burqa had led to a wave of attacks against the Muslim women wearing the face veil. Johnson had written a column in August in which he referred to Muslim women in veils as "letterboxes" and "bank robbers". Anti-Muslim incidents spiked by 375% – from eight incidents the previous week to 38 in the following -- after Johnson's article, the Guardian reported.
In an article written in the Spectator in 2005, Johnson had said that it was only "natural" for the public to be scared of Islam. "To any non-Muslim reader of the Koran, Islamophobia - fear of Islam - seems a natural reaction, and, indeed, exactly what that text is intended to provoke," he wrote.
Johnson had also called into question the loyalty of British Muslims after the London bombings. He said Britain must accept that "Islam is the problem." What is going on in these mosques and madrasas? When is going to get 18th century on Islam's medieval ass?" he said.
