British lawmakers slam government for not tackling rising Islamophobia

The ‘Voice of America’, a US state-owned news network, has said that British Parliamentarians from various political parties, including the ruling Conservatives, harshly criticized the government for failing to address rising anti-Muslim hatred and ways to tackle such crimes.

The news network added that in the opening of a parliamentary debate on Thursday, Labour MP Naz Shah said several members of parliament have repeatedly requested a debate on the issue for the past several years, but the calls “have fallen on deaf ears” by the government.

“I assure all those listening to this debate who might not really understand the issue that when Muslim communities speak up on the issue of Islamophobia, we are not looking for preferential treatment. In fact, quite the opposite. We are asking for equal treatment, free of discrimination, injustice and hatred,” Shah stressed.

According to the latest statistics, Labour’s Shah said there has been a 600% rise in Islamophobic incidents in the UK, including both verbal and physical abuse, as well as vandalism, “such as the dumping of a pig’s head at a proposed site of a mosque in Barnoldswick.”