Brit Muslim MP reveals shocking uptick in hate comments
Sky News spoke to a female Muslim member of the UK Parliament on March 13 and revealed a torrent of racist, sexist and Islamophobic comments made against her.
Zarah Sultana,30, is one of the youngest members of parliament and is part of the left-wing faction of the opposition Labour Party. She was born in Birmingham to Pakistani Muslim parents.
Amidst a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment – which counter-extremism experts say is due to the Israel-Gaza conflict -, Sultana, who has been in the House of Commons since 2019, often receives derogatory comments like, “deport her” and “Muslim b**ch”.
She recently found that she was subjected to the highest amount of abuse out of all lawmakers over the past 12 months, 68% more than the next most targeted MP, and has had to increase a security presence when at events, notably when she is in her Coventry South constituency.
The 30-year-old noted that her speaking up for the Palestinian cause has resulted in an uptick in online targeting.
During the interview, Sultana read out some of the foul comments that she receives on a daily basis. “You need to be deported you b**ch” said one social media user. Angry at her support for the oppressed people of Gaza, another commented, “Send that b**ch to Palestine, they are low on targets”.
The socialist has been consistent in her support for Palestinian rights even prior to Israel’s brutal pummeling of the besieged Gaza Strip. This is despite Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sympathising more with the Israeli side and has often linked support for Palestine with antisemitism.
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Since Starmer became leader in 2020, the party has shifted to the right and various left-wing members have been purged, long serving MPs Jeremy Corbyn, the party’s former frontman, and Diane Abbott to name a few.
The latter, a black female lawmaker, has also highlighted the stream of racist and misogynist remarks made by trolls and rabble rousers on numerous occasions.
As Britain faces a visible uptick in anti-Muslim feeling, Sultana pointed the finger at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Conservative Party for “whipping up fear against the Muslim community”.
Sunak recently made an address on the steps of 10 Downing Street, claiming that “extremists” were running rampant on Britain’s streets and that a significant number of those participating in pro-Palestine marches in London and other major British cities were “Islamists”.
Dubbed an irresponsible move by Sunak critics, it was understood that the speech was made in response to left-wing firebrand George Galloway’s stunning victory in the Rochdale (a northern town in the Manchester area) by-election on February 29. The political veteran has been a strong voice for Palestine throughout his career and won on a pro-Palestine ticket.
Now deposed Conservative Party MP, and former vice chair of the party, Lee Anderson was also accused of anti-Muslim bigotry last month when he claimed that the Muslim Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was allowing the city to be “controlled by Islamists” and that said people were “his mates”.
Anderson was swiftly given the boot from the party by the premier however Sunak refused to describe his remarks as Islamophobic.
Sky News
