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Boris Johnson's burqa remarks 'fan flames of Islamophobia', says MP Boris Johnson's burqa remarks 'fan flames of Islamophobia', says MP
(about 3 hours later)
Boris Johnson is facing calls to apologise after he said Muslim women in burqas look “like letter boxes”, with Labour demanding that Theresa May condemns “this blatant Islamophobia”. Boris Johnson has been accused of “dog whistle” Islamophobia by a former Conservative chairwoman after he compared Muslim women in burqas to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers.”
The former foreign secretary went on to compare Muslim women in burqas to bank robbers and rebellious teenagers, and said he would expect his constituents to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery, in an article he wrote for the Daily Telegraph on Monday. Lady Sayeeda Warsi said the lack of action by the party over Johnson’s comments showed it was “business as usual.”
His comments sparked an angry response from other politicians, who said he was stoking Islamophobia, while Labour urged Johnson to apologise. Labour demanded that the Conservative chair, Brandon Lewis, refer the former foreign secretary for mandatory equalities training, amid renewed calls for the party to open an independent investigation into Islamophobia in the party. In a letter to Lewis, the shadow equalities minister, Naz Shah, said Johnson’s comments were “ugly and naked Islamophobia” and said Lewis should abide by his word to give Tory members diversity training to combat Islamophobia.
“Boris Johnson’s latest racist insults cannot be laughed off, like they often are,” said Naz Shah, Labour’s shadow equalities minister. “Saying Muslim women look like letterboxes, comparing them to bank robbers and describing Islam as a ‘problem’ was a calculated attack and published in a national newspaper. The party was also criticised by the Finsbury Park mosque imam, who was praised for his heroism during the terror attack last year. He said the Tory party was “in denial” over the extent of Islamophobia.
“Theresa May must condemn this blatant Islamophobia and Boris Johnson must apologise.” Johnson said he did not agree with a ban on the face veil, but compared Muslim women in burqas to bank robbers and rebellious teenagers. In his column for the Telegraph, he said he would expect his constituents to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery, comments which Shah said fell foul of equalities law.
Labour MP David Lammy called Johnson a “pound-shop Donald Trump” and accused him of “fanning the flames of Islamophobia” for political advantage. He tweeted: “As a Muslim woman, I am appalled that this kind of ugly and naked Islamophobia has been published in a national newspaper and so far appears to be tolerated by your party leadership,” Shah wrote in the letter which was also sent to the women and equalities minister, Penny Mordaunt.
Muslim women are having their burkas pulled off by thugs in our streets & Boris Johnson's response is to mock them for "looking like letter boxes." Our pound-shop Donald Trump is fanning the flames of Islamophobia to propel his grubby electoral ambitions.https://t.co/51YTjIdT4x Shah said Johnson’s suggestion that he should be “fully entitled” to ask a constituent who came to him for advice or assistance to remove her veil was “grossly insulting and Islamophobic... it would also potentially be unlawful if he were to carry it out”.
The Labour MP Jess Phillips said she would report Johnson to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, while the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said Johnson was “pandering to the far-right”. The MP said the Conservative party had vowed to tackle Islamophobia, pointing to a ConservativeHome article where Lewis said he would set up diversity training. “If no action is taken against Mr Johnson – for example, at the very least requiring him to attend a course of training and engagement with the Islamic community – what faith can Muslim people have in your public statements?” she wrote.
In a statement, the MCB – an umbrella body for 500 mosques, schools and associations across the UK – said: “His comments are particularly regrettable in this current climate, where Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred is becoming worryingly pervasive with disappointingly little action from this current government … Warsi, who has previously called for an inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative party after it was raised by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), tweeted that the comments were “dog whistle” from Johnson. The MCB said Johnson was “pandering to the far-right” and underlined the need for a deeper investigation by the Conservative party.
“Mr Johnson’s comments come at a time when he reportedly met Donald Trump’s former right-hand man Steve Bannon. “Tories are in denial on Islamophobia- says the hero praised around the world for his brave & compassionate response to the murderous attack in #FinsburyPark” @standardnews Meanwhile @Conservatives its business as usual with #Boris #Burkha dog whistle 😔https://t.co/KXFl3GtgEo
“We need responsibility and action from our politicians, not pandering to the far-right. Mr Johnson’s comments also underscores the MCB’s call for an inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. Such crass commentary should have no place in our political discourse.” The Finsbury Park imam, Mohammed Mahmoud, said there was a general lack of engagement with the Muslim community from ministers. Writing for the Evening Standard on the anniversary of the van attack which killed one worshipper and injured 12 others, he said: “Despite the rising scale and severity of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred, the response from the government has been lacklustre, or worse, in denial.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy tweeted: Other Labour MPs condemned Johnson. David Lammy called Johnson a “pound-shop Donald Trump” and accused him of “fanning the flames of Islamophobia” for political advantage. Jess Phillips said she would report Johnson to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Dear Tory leadership voters - one of the potential candidates thinks you want Bannon not Boris on the ballot paper. Make sure you tell him being a Buffoon not being a racist and misogynist more British and more your bag before he goes full morrissey… #21stcenturycalling https://t.co/3FfifuotUx In his column, Johnson said schools and universities should be entitled to tell students to remove a veil if a student “turns up … looking like a bank robber”.
Johnson said he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery, and said schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student “turns up … looking like a bank robber”. “It is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes; and I thoroughly dislike any attempt by any – invariably male – government to encourage such demonstrations of ‘modesty’,” he wrote. Businesses and government agencies should be able to “enforce a dress code that enables their employees to interact with customers”, including by allowing them to see their faces, Johnson said.
In his column he wrote: “It is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes; and I thoroughly dislike any attempt by any – invariably male – government to encourage such demonstrations of ‘modesty’.” Denmark introduced a burqa ban last week, with fines of around 1,000 kroner, following similar moves in France, Austria and Belgium.
Businesses and government agencies should also be able to “enforce a dress code that enables their employees to interact with customers”, including by allowing them to see their faces, Johnson said. Johnson said he did not support a blanket ban on wearing a face veil in the UK. “You risk turning people into martyrs, and you risk a general crackdown on any public symbols of religious affiliation, and you may simply make the problem worse,” he wrote.
Nonetheless, he recognised that a total ban on burqas and niqabs was “not the answer” and said: “I don’t propose we follow suit.” Denmark last week followed France, Austria and Belgium and introduced a burqa ban. The Conservative party did not respond to a request for comment.
A fine of 1,000 kroner (£120) has already been imposed on a woman wearing a full-face veil in a shopping centre in the town of Hørsholm, after another woman reportedly tried to pull it off.
Johnson has previously come under fire for his controversial remarks in the Daily Telegraph. In a 2002 column, he said “the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth” because it supplied her “with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies”.
The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment.
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