UK lawmaker claims she was fired over her Muslim faith

[TexasTowelie]

LONDON (AP) — A former minister in Britain’s Conservative government says she was told her Muslim faith was a reason she was fired, a claim that has deepened the rifts roiling Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s governing party.

Former transport minister Nusrat Ghani told the Sunday Times that when she was demoted in 2020, a government whip said her “Muslimness” was “making colleagues uncomfortable.”

She said she was told “there were concerns ‘that I wasn’t loyal to the party as I didn’t do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations.’

“It was very clear to me that the whips and No. 10 (Downing St.) were holding me to a higher threshold of loyalty than others because of my background and faith,” Ghani said.

Read more: https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/bowling-green/ap-top-news/2022/01/23/uk-lawmaker-claims-she-was-fired-over-her-muslim-faith

[jimfields33]

1. I don't think religion is acceptable in government at all

[Emrys]

2. Baronness Warsi, among others, has been trying to get the Tories to take

their Islamophobia seriously for years:

Islamophobia report criticises PM Johnson
The Tory peer listed criticism of the PM’s comments on women wearing the burka as proof of the party’s Islamophobia problem.

Conservative peer Baroness Warsi has said she feels her campaign against Islamophobia in the party has been vindicated by an independent review which included criticism of Boris Johnson for comments about women wearing the burka.

Lady Warsi, former chairwoman of the party, had accused the Tories of “institutional racism” and submitted a dossier of 30 cases to the inquiry.

The report said it carried out “in-depth scrutiny” of the cases provided by Lady Warsi but “we concluded that her allegation of ‘institutional racism’ against the party was not borne out by evidence available to the investigation as regards the way the party handled the complaints process”.

Nonetheless, the peer said numerous findings proved the need for her six-year campaign to highlight Islamophobic sentiment in the party.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/boris-johnson-sajid-javid-tell-mama-muslim-conservative-b937142.html

For much of that period, the focus has been allegations of antisemitism against various Labour figures, though surveys have found its supporters less antisemitic than right-wing parties, and that includes the Tory Party.

Islamophobia is endemic in the Tory Party. It's a shame it took so long for Ghani to realize that.