Divisive legacy

Suella Braverman was sacked as the UK’s home secretary on Monday, 13th November. Her time in the post highlighted the challenging state of things for the British Muslim community, some of which is deeply rooted in the historic Islamophobia and wider xenophobia in the Conservative Party and the UK at large.

“It’s been a frustrating time in the British Pakistani and British Muslim community,” said Asrar Hayder, a poet belonging to both communities. “In fact, I think this frustration goes far beyond one subset of society… I have friends from across the country from diverse backgrounds and beliefs who have been regularly going to protests for Palestine or speaking out about it wherever they can. To have the government label the movement as a ‘hate march’ when hundreds of thousands — a million in London last weekend — of people have been marching peacefully asking for the most simple thing: peace. It’s mind boggling. It’s infuriating.”

It was at the end of October that then-home secretary Suella Braverman described pro-Palestine protests in the UK as “hate marches.” The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) had organised four demonstrations that month in response to the escalation of violence on and since the 7th October when Hamas attacked Israel, unjustifiably killing 1,400 people. But the Israeli government’s response, which has resulted in the deaths of over 11,000 to date (as per the Gaza Health Ministry, which WHO said it has no reason to disbelieve), has been described as unlawful, collective punishment and in violation of international law, particularly due to the civilian casualties and the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus.

The first PSC march (9th October) was outside the Israeli Embassy in London to “demand Israel end its violent imposition of a system of occupation, apartheid and colonisation over the Palestinian people”, the second (14th October) was at the BBC Broadcasting House to make the same demand, the third (21st October) was at Marble Arch to “demand an end to the war on Gaza” and the fourth (28th October) was at the Victoria Embankment to demand an “immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.” These demands cannot be described as “hateful.”

A huge pro-Palestine protest was held again on the 11th November, Armistice Day. A fitting date as it marks the end of the First World War, and it was likely one of the largest protests in British history. The Metropolitan Police reported that the PSC march “did not see the sort of physical violence” as that carried out by the right-wing, who went to central London to “protect monuments” in response.

The Remembrance Day service was held peacefully, though it was the right-wing protestors who nearly put that in jeopardy.

The police did report that there were some “intimidating” breakaway groups from the PSC march and a “number of serious offences.” But it should be borne in mind that, as the Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner stated, there were only several hundred right-wing counter-protestors, whereas different sources estimate that there were between 300,000 and 800,000 people in the PSC march.

Braverman’s mischaracterisation of the PSC protests is only one example of her language and behaviour that reflects the challenging state of things for British Muslims at present. In this context, it is worth noting that, in the year ending March 2023, Muslims were once again the group most targeted in religious hate crime offences in England and Wales (44% of 7,756), up from 42% in the previous year. Jewish people were second at 19%. Incidents of both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are reported to have increased exponentially in the wake of the continued violence in Israel and Gaza, even in schools. Black and Asian victims of racially aggravated crimes have higher rates of victimisation than white people. There is also a strongly racial dimension to Islamophobia, as non-Muslims are often targeted in anti-Muslim hate crimes because they are perceived to be Muslim due to their race.

Braverman faced a severe backlash when she made sweeping comments about British Pakistani men earlier in the year in relation to grooming gangs. She had said that “vulnerable white English girls” were being “pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men, who’ve worked in child abuse rings or network,” citing high-profile cases to suggest that there was a “predominance of certain ethnic groups, and I say British Pakistani males, who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values to see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way, and pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave.” Braverman was rightly challenged through reference to a Home Office report of 2020 which found that grooming gangs were “most commonly white” and that links between this offense and ethnicity “could not be proven.” But the damage was done and the harmful misrepresentation was further embedded in the national discourse. Ultimately, any form of hate, discrimination or dehumanising language breeds more of the same. A culture of hate for one community means that hatred for others is likely not far behind.

Braverman delivered an inflammatory speech at the Conservative Party Conference in early October, describing future mass migration to the UK as a “hurricane.” This is the sort of dehumanising language that makes controversial policies seem acceptable, because people are treated as merely a nuisance. She celebrated the UK as “generous” for taking in refugees, but that the large number of people from “poorer countries” who would “love to move to Britain” is more than what the UK could handle.

Braverman also summarised the Illegal Migration Act, which was due to come into force in the coming months. It would mean that the only route to asylum in the UK would be through a legal route. Those who arrive illegally would be detained and removed to their home country or to a “safe third country,” with the government favouring Rwanda. But this policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda has since, on the 15th November, been ruled to be unlawful by the Supreme Court and thus requires substantial revision before it can be implemented.

Even then, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he did not agree with the court’s decision and that the government is working on speedily establishing a new treaty with Rwanda to guarantee that those moved from the UK to Rwanda will be protected (a guarantee the Supreme Court justices feared might not be upheld under the current scheme) and to officially declare Rwanda a “safe third country.” He also said that, because they may still face challenges from the European Union Court of Human Rights, he was prepared to review current laws and revisit international relationships. This is nothing short of desperation for a cruel policy, previously described as “at variance with the country’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law.”

Braverman leaves behind a divisive legacy and questions remain as to what the future holds for the British Muslim community and the wider minority communities under her successor, James Cleverly. In March 2019, when he was deputy chairman of the party, Cleverly responded to Baroness Sayeeda Warsi’s statement that Islamophobia was a problem in the Conservative Party that went beyond individuals, in the wake of Peter Lamb being allowed to run as a council candidate for the party. Lamb had earlier said that “Islam is like alcoholism. The first step to recovery is admit you have a problem.” Cleverly said that he disagreed with Warsi “deeply,” after Lamb had initially been suspended by the party at the local level for the statement and then the central office later conducted its own investigation after it was reported that he was running again, having been readmitted to the party.

It was nine months later that he apologised for Islamophobia in the party and announced that there would be an inquiry into it and other forms of racism, after more allegations had emerged of Islamophobia in the party and just days before the 2019 general election. This inquiry was conducted by Professor Swaran Singh and was completed on the 25th May 2021. Though different forms of discrimination were investigated, it was found that two-thirds of all incidents of discrimination reported to the party (between and including 2015-2020) were “related to allegations of anti-Muslim discrimination.” Therefore, Islamophobia was undoubtedly a problem within the party.

An independent review into the implementation of the Singh Investigation’s recommendations was published in July 2023, concluding that the party had a better trained complaints team, the process of making a complaint was easier to understand and that the Code of Conduct had been made “clearer.” But it also found that there was still “much to do” at the local level, where most complaints of discrimination occurred, that the implementation of some recommendations had been “slow” and that the party should find ways to “improve the experience” of both vulnerable complainants and respondents. One case study of a complainant was cited, for whom the complaints process was long and that the “sanctioned behaviour has continued undeterred.”

Braverman may be out of the cabinet, but her speeches and policies were lined with dangerous rhetoric that will haunt the British Muslim and other minority communities. The governing Conservative Party also has a history of Islamophobia that remains to be more adequately addressed, seemingly matched by the anti-Semitism associated with the Labour Party. Ultimately, more has to be done to tackle all forms of hate, discrimination and dehumanisation at the grassroots level, but politicians must take responsibility for the part they play.

“British Muslims, typically working class, have always struggled to engage with the Conservative Party,” said Hayder. “I know from personal experience that the party is also averse to many of our organisations. They simply don’t care. Now we’ve lost a whole lot of trust in Labour too following Starmer’s actions around the ceasefire vote this week. Disfranchisement coupled with a culture of Islamophobia — remember, a former Conservative prime minister called women in niqab “letterboxes” — means that many feel there is no one to represent us. The Muslim vote is going to take a lot of effort to win. As 8% of the population, that’s not negligible.”

The writer is undertaking a PhD at the University of St Andrews and writes regularly on Pakistan and its diaspora in the UK.