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Tory MP Stuns People By Declaring Islamophobia Can Only Impact 'Obvious' Muslims

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Tory MP Michael Fabricant waded into the Islamophobia row on Sunday


Michael Fabricant lashed out at his Tory colleague Nusrat Ghani over her allegations of islamophobia in the government, saying “the whole thing actually stinks”.

Ghani has alleged she was removed from her role as a minister for the department of transport in 2020 because her “Muslimness” was “making colleagues uncomfortable”.

No.10 has now ordered an inquiry into the claims and promised the prime minister “will take it seriously” – but Conservative MP Fabricant said Ghani’s claims seemed “very suspicious” to him when speaking to LBC on Sunday.

He said, “I think the whole thing actually stinks” because it’s currently “open season” on the whips office and Boris Johnson as people are trying to get the prime minister to resign.

He continued: “Prejudice of any kind in modern Britain is pretty pathetic. It was pathetic 100 years ago and it’s even more pathetic now when this sort of thing happens.

“But ministers come and they go. Sometimes, it’s because you want to refresh the ministerial team. Sometimes, it’s because they were useless. Sometimes, because they are just average and mediocre, and you want to put somebody else in.”

Fabricant also claimed dismissed Ghani’s allegations because “she’s hardly someone who is obviously Muslim” as he had “no idea what religion she was”, before suggesting her allegations seemed “rather a lame excuse to me”.

His words infuriated many people, and Labour frontbenchers even started calling for the Conservatives to remove the whip from Fabricant.


'She's hardly someone who's obviously a Muslim.'

Tory MP Michael Fabricant declares that Nusrat Ghani's accusation of Islamophobia is a 'lame excuse' for her sacking as it's 'not apparent' she is Muslim.@toryboypierce | @Mike_Fabricantpic.twitter.com/jUvsKHteAL

— LBC (@LBC) January 23, 2022

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said it was an “appalling, disgraceful thing to say”, while shadow minister for legal aid Afzal Khan tweeted: “At the risk of over-interpreting the rantings of a racist, I think he means that [Ghani] does not wear a hijab.

“Let’s be clear: it is not the role of any man, Muslim or non-Muslim, to police a woman’s faith because of clothes she wears.”

Shadow women and equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds said Fabricant’s words just highlighted how the government needs to take Islamophobia seriously, and called for the whip to be removed.


What an appalling, disgraceful thing to say. If the Tories wanted to show they were serious about tackling Islamophobia, they could start by removing the whip from Michael Fabricant https://t.co/xWmApQbZvK

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) January 23, 2022

What does Fabricant mean here?

At the risk of overinterpretting the rantings of a racist, I think he means that @Nus_Ghani does not wear a hijab.

Let's be clear: it is not the role of any man, Muslim or non-Muslim, to police a woman's faith because of clothes she wears. https://t.co/FaipFdRA4b

— Afzal Khan MP (@Afzal4Gorton) January 23, 2022

The Labour MPs weren’t alone in their fury, as people rallied on Twitter against Fabricant’s words.


How is this guy an elected MP?

What a shocking comment ?#standwithNushttps://t.co/RmaeMi5QjM

— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) January 24, 2022

How absurd. We are only prejudiced against people who are OBVIOUSLY Muslim https://t.co/5dE1OCETEk

— Ⓓⓐⓥⓘⓓ (@darts_dave180) January 24, 2022

So does being “obviously Muslim” like say “letterboxes” make discrimination ok?

If Nusrat Ghani is alleging islamophobia & discrimination imagine what people who Michael Fabricant calls “obviously Muslim” might experience? https://t.co/29kNcyy0AU

— Saima Mohsin (@SaimaMohsin) January 24, 2022

Party politics aside - someone with this level of ignorance should be nowhere near political office. https://t.co/O2tsVML9mm

— James Diggle (@JimDiggle) January 24, 2022

This is utterly risible. How on earth could Mr Fabricant personal ignorance of a well known public fact (compared to his conversations about the Christian faith of an entirely different former MP) have any bearing on the allegation made? pic.twitter.com/Np5nWYhDEF

— Sunder Katwala (@sundersays) January 23, 2022

Fabricant did respond to the backlash when he tweeted: “I say in this LBC clip that prejudice is unforgivable.

“But Nus Ghani claims her being Muslim made people uncomfortable. I don’t buy that at all as most people wouldn’t have had a clue whether she was Muslim or not.

“And if they had, prejudice would of course be wrong.”

The Tory MP also tweeted about the Islamophobia allegations on Friday, claiming that she has been “plotting against Boris for some time now”.

He added that “there are many excellent Muslim ministers in the government” and she “was nice but unimaginative and mediocre” as a minister.


I say in this LBC clip that prejudice is unforgiveable.
But Nus Ghani claims her being Muslim made people uncomfortable. I don't buy that at all as most people wouldn't have had a clue whether she was Muslim or not.
And if they had, prejudice would of course be wrong. https://t.co/1EC5xEIRw6

— Michael Fabricant ?? (@Mike_Fabricant) January 23, 2022

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