Starmer must stand against Musk and Islamophobia, Labour Muslims urge

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by figures in his own party to tackle “head on” those pushing “Islamophobic talking points” in the debate on grooming gangs despite Labour fears of losing votes to Reform.

Writing exclusively for The i Paper, the leaders of the Labour Muslim Network, have urged the Prime Minister to show the “courage” to call out attacks such as Robert Jenrick’s call for a crackdown on immigration from countries with “alien cultures” and “medieval attitudes”.

They also sounded the alarm that the “poisoned discourse” would only get worse after Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to remove content controls from his social media platforms to make it more like the X platform owned by Donald Trump ally Elon Musk, who has revived the debate on grooming gangs in the UK in recent days.

Starmer on Wednesday again rejected calls from Conservatives, Reform and tech billionaire Musk to launch a national inquiry on grooming gangs of mainly South Asian heritage.

He also warned Tory leader Kemi Badenoch against the “lies and misinformation and slinging of mud” in the debate on grooming gangs and suggested he had “jumped on the bandwagon” with her calls for an inquiry.

Earlier this week, Starmer said Badenoch’s party was “amplifying what the far-right is saying” on grooming while failing in government to act on the landmark 2022 Alexis Jay report on child sex abuse.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Badenoch however accused Starmer of “enabling those people who wish to smear all British Muslims based on the actions of a small minority” by refusing an inquiry.

She also suggested Labour politicians may be “complicit” in “one of the worst scandals in British history”, which has blown up since X boss Musk launched a barrage of attacks on Starmer and Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips on the issue, and voiced support for jailed far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.

But Labour Muslim Network chair author Ali Milani and vice-chair Samayya Afzal, said they had seen evidence of politicians using the row to employ political strategies “predicated on demonising Muslim communities, attacking Islam and targeting (mostly Muslim) migrants who come to this country in search of safety and asylum”.

They wrote: “Muslims have had to contend with being called ‘alien’, ‘backward’, ‘medieval’, ‘barbaric’, ‘extreme’ and so much more.

“We recognise those classic Islamophobic tropes that suggest Muslims have an inherent problem with women, that Muslims demean women, and that Muslims bring with them ‘medieval’ cultures to infect Britain.

“None of it is true.

“We know that.

“The reality is Musk, Jenrick and all their friends and colleagues know it too.”

Milani and Afzal urged Starmer to ensure that fears over losing votes to Reform does not temper Labour’s response to the claims.

They said: “We know many are fearful of (Nigel) Farage and the rise of Reform. We have heard it from Labour figures across the party.

“But the answer is not to cower to them or allow them to define the narrative of Britain’s past or future.

“That is not only a recipe for division and further hate, but also of political suicide.

“You cannot out-Farage, Farage.

“The answer is to challenge them head on.

“If they want to divide our communities, we will unite them. If they want to attack migrants and refugees, we will defend them.

“If they want to embrace the likes of Elon Musk, we will stand in their way.

“Do we have the courage to do that?”

Reform leader Nigel Farage has fallen out with Elon Musk after he said there was no place for Tommy Robinson in his party, following Musk’s support for the right-wing agitator, who is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

After the comment Musk tweeted that Farage should be replaced as Reform leader as he did not “have what it takes”.

Downing Street was approached for comment.

‘Islamophobia has reached a tipping point’

We did warn you.

For over a decade, prominent Muslim political leaders, thinkers and commentators have been warning that the scale and normalisation of Islamophobia in Britain was reaching a tipping point. That if we continued down the path we were headed, and ignored the level of hate and bigotry regularly aimed at Muslim communities, it would have disastrous consequences. 

Last summer, those consequences went from theory to reality. They were laid bare for all to see, and yet still, leaders had to be dragged kicking and screaming to acknowledge the Islamophobic and racist elements underpinning the violence.

The truth is Islamophobia has gone far beyond the dinner table test, as described by Sayeeda Warsi, and is now into full blown, industrial scale normalisation. When political leaders have nothing else, they can rely on this: whipping up fear, hatred and vitriol against Muslims.

It’s plain now that entire political strategies are predicated on demonising Muslim communities, attacking Islam and targeting (mostly Muslim) migrants who come to this country in search of safety and asylum. It isn’t just that there are no political costs to weaponsing Islamophobia in modern British politics, it’s that the biggest money, the biggest figures, and the biggest politicians see real electoral advantages to it.

This week, they’ve been emboldened by the fact that they’re not alone, that their Islamophobic talking points have a global ear. The world’s richest man and new senior adviser to the incoming President of the United States Elon Musk has over the past weeks, been tweeting about his new-found concern about grooming gangs and political support for the far-right instigator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson to his 211m followers. Amongst a tirade of largely incoherent attacks, conspiracy theories and smear campaigns against British political leaders, Mr Musk has unleashed the very worst elements of British politics.

Many would have expected a cross-party condemnation of Mr Musk’s appalling comments. That despite our differences, in ideology and application, that Westminster could come together to defend the country and society from a clear attempt by a foreign billionaire to stir up division and hate. But no. So desperate for the approval and attention of increasingly unstable men across the Atlantic, some politicians in Britain aren’t just willing to sell out our communities here at home, they’re chomping at the bit to be the first.

Robert Jenrick, former Home Office Minister and current Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, responded by going further than even the most cynical amongst us would have dreamed. Even as Nigel Farage distanced himself from Tommy Robinson, and earned the ire of Mr Musk, some Tories have still refused to do so. As part of his continuous rebrand as Westminster’s latest hard right firebrand, Jenrick has called for a cap on immigrants with “alien cultures with medieval views about women”.

What is utterly clear to see is that the Tory politicians currently splashing headline after headline about women and girls have never given a moment’s notice to the grooming inquiry led by Baroness Jay, nor did the-then Conservative government adopt a single one of the 20 recommendations she published. The fact that they’re shouting from the sidelines after refusing to do the bare minimum to support victims when they actually had power should tell us everything we need to know about these reactionary cowards.  

Muslims have heard this all before. Migrants have heard it all before. We are used to it. Our skins are calloused to these disgusting accusations. We know the implications and the dog whistle racism of this form of politics. Muslims have had to contend with being called “alien”, “backward”, “medieval”, “barbaric”, “extreme” and so much more. We recognise those classic Islamophobic tropes that suggest Muslims have an inherent problem with women, that Muslims demean women, and that Muslims bring with them “medieval” cultures to infect Britain. 

None of it is true. We know that. The reality is Musk, Jenrick and all their friends and colleagues know it too.

But they see a political strategy in this path. As truth and nuance disappears in our politics, and debates are replaced with the wild west of social media platforms (and certainly X under the leadership of Elon Musk), it is now more about defining your enemies and how hard and fast you can attack. Divide and rule. Even Mark Zuckerberg and Meta have given into these new rules and removed content moderators in preference to a X style community noting system. This poisoned discourse, at least in the short term, seems to be our future.

The consequences of giving in to this divisive and dangerous narrative? 

Violence. Real violence. This summer’s riots in Britain saw unprecedented levels of violence targeted (largely) at migrant and Muslim communities. Mosques attacked, migrant hotels targeted and death threats sent and acted upon to entire communities. What we had feared while gathering at Friday prayers and community events, what our parents and grandparents told us they faced as newly arrived immigrants, and what we warned about continuously, happened, and very few political leaders recognised it. 

This problem is no longer in the abstract. It is the question of the very safety of millions of British citizens. It is the fabric of our communities. Do we wish to surrender them to Elon Musk, and his pick-me, attention seeking cheerleaders here in Britain. Or do we want to defend our communities? There is no middle ground. You cannot pretend to be a patriot, while surrendering to a foreign billionaire to dictate the terms and debate of our politics. These plastic patriots can surround themselves in Union Jack flags, and put as many little flags in their social media names and bios, but everyone can see through this fake patriotism now. 

Whose side are you on?

That is the question facing more progressive politicians and actors in the UK – most notably in the Labour party.

We know many are fearful of Farage and the rise of Reform. We have heard it from Labour figures across the party. But the answer is not to cower to them or allow them to define the narrative of Britain’s past or future. That is not only a recipe for division and further hate, but also of political suicide. You cannot out-Farage, Farage. The answer is to challenge them head on. If they want to divide our communities, we will unite them. If they want to attack migrants and refugees, we will defend them. If they want to embrace the likes of Elon Musk, we will stand in their way.

Do we have the courage to do that?

Ali Milani and Samayya Afzal are National Chair and National Vice Chair of the Labour Muslim Network