Labor Party's ‘Islamophobia’ exposed by new survey

The extent of Islamophobia in the Labor Party has been documented for the first time, raising deep doubts about the leadership qualities of Keir Starmer.

According to Press TV quoting a survey by the Labor Muslim Network (LMN), 55 percent of respondents say they do not “trust the leadership of the Labor Party to tackle Islamophobia effectively”.

Another 59 percent of Muslim members and supporters of the Labor Party said they do not feel “well represented by the leadership of the party”.

To make matters worse, a quarter of Muslim Labor members claim they have experienced “direct” Islamophobia within the party, while a third said they had “witnessed” Islamophobia first hand.

Furthermore, 48 percent of respondents claim they do “not have confidence” in Labor’s ability to deal with complaints “effectively”.

The LMN’s survey is based on interviews with 422 members and supporters of the Labor Party. It is not clear exactly when the survey was conducted.

Challenge to the leadership

The findings of the survey is a major challenge to the party’s leadership, led by newly-elected Leader Keir Starmer, especially as it comes in the wake of the latter’s decision to deal decisively with allegations of anti-Semitism.

Only late last month the party – under Starmer’s direction – suspended former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, on the grounds of his allegedly insufficiently strong reaction to an Equality and Human Rights Commission’s report on anti-Semitism within the party.

Starmer’s harsh treatment of Corbyn – who remains very popular with Labor’s rank and file – was widely seen as an attempted purge of the party’s old guard who hold sympathetic views on the Palestinian cause.

Muslim alienation 

The MLN survey is expected to further alienate the Labor Party’s Muslim membership and intensify an exodus that began with the advent of Starmer’s leadership.

One respondent told LMN that rising Islamophobia “will not only damage [the] Labor Party but will cause huge uproar and divisions too”.

Another respondent claimed that Labor’s internal systems to contain and defeat Islamophobia are “unfit for purpose”.

"The sophistication of racism and Islamophobia today is not recognized or accommodated by procedures", the respondent claimed.

But the LMN survey looks at broader issues involving Labor and Muslims, including overseas conflicts that are close to the heart of Britain’s Islamic community.

The report found that Labor’s modified stance on the Palestinian occupation and the party’s “perceived change” of position on the conflict in the Indian-administered Kashmir, are causing “hurt” to the party’s Muslim members and supporters.

ME