‘November is Islamophobia Awareness month-let’s stand up for people of all Faiths.’

Councillor David Taylor today shares his monthly Taylor Talks column highlighting the the issue of Islamophobia.

November is Islamophobia Awareness Month and, as a Christian, I feel that it is my duty to stand up for people of all faith. 

 During the Conservative Party Conference, I hosted an event with charity Opendoors. Opendoors are a Christian charity, based in Oxfordshire, who campaign for religious freedom across the world. Over 70 people attended, including MPs and Shadow Cabinet Members. 

 The meeting showed that here in the UK we take religious freedom seriously. We want the ability to practice our faith and many feel that our traditional Christian heritage is being eroded or under threat.

 But, the threat on religious freedom isn’t just towards Christians and it doesn’t only come from the government. Many Muslims, across the UK, live in fear. 

 Earlier this year, it was revealed that Havering Council are attempting to evict the Havering Islamic Centre from their home on Bridge Close. Because this is a forced sale, the council has to provide them with an alternative. We can all agree that this is fair. 

 When the news broke, the council and local leaders were slow to tell the whole picture and so rumours started to fly. My inbox filled with anger that “The council will build a mosque but not a church” or that somehow our local Muslim community was getting special treatment. All of this even though the opposite was happening. 

 The local Muslim community was being forced out of their home, so the council can build another tower-block. 

 As a community, we have to ask why so many turned immediately to anger and hatred? The Muslim community in our town run soup kitchens, provide support to the homeless, and they take part in local community events. Local Muslim leaders are there on Remembrance Sunday, Essex Day, Holocaust Memorial Day and even at Christmas events. I regularly attend Havering’s Interfaith Forum and there we see how local Muslims, Christians, Jews, and many other faiths live side by side. 

 When standing up to Islamophobia there is a common ‘come-back’. “It’s not a phobia… because I’m not afraid”. This retort, somehow justifying the demonisation of the Muslim community, does nothing to make the situation any better. 

 For too long, many of us on the right of politics have been too comfortable with Islamophobic people in our circles. We let them get away with outrageous comments, mostly whispered quietly, and we say nothing for fear of upsetting the boat. We have failed to stand up for our Muslim community, who do as much for this town as anyone else. 

 This must stop and politicians on all sides of the spectrum need to be bolder in standing up to and calling out Islamophobia when we see it. 

 No matter what religion or faith group we look at, we can find wrong-uns. For every Rochdale child-abuse case, we can point to where a priest or vicar has also been accused. Recently, Christian youth leader Mike Pivilachi has been accused of abuse, such as giving young men oil massages. His events used to draw thousands. When I was growing up, his Church, Soul Survivor, was the place to be. 

 Yet, somehow, we get more angry about the actions of our Muslim community then the actions of our own. We claim that they are opposed to our way of life but stay almost silent about abuse carried out by white, British, Christians. 

 Islamophobia may not mean that you are running around actively hating Muslims. It is very often an unrealised bias that impacts how you interpret what you see. It effects what angers you and what makes you happy. 

 One resident recently wrote to me in anger that the ticket barriers at Romford station bore advertising for Islamic Relief. This is despite the fact the organisation helps millions suffering from war and natural disasters. Here, in the UK Islamic Relief even runs support programmes for women escaping domestic abuse, and they provide food parcels to over 43,000 people.

 What was it, about the advert for a disaster relief charity, that made someone so angry and upset?

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