Labelling criticism as racism is a cynical way to score political points
sir – Criticism of a religion should not be construed as racism. Did Lee Anderson MP make negative comments about people of a certain ethnicity (report, February 26)? No, he did not. So why do people like Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party chairman, accuse him of racism, when they know perfectly well that he was speaking about Islamists, who come from many different racial backgrounds?
Would criticism of Christianity be construed as racism? Of course not. These people, and many others, are simply stirring up trouble.
Culbokie, Ross and Cromarty
sir – Dr Martin Luther King Jr gave a comprehensive definition of racism in 1963, when he argued that people should not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.
However, it seems today that the definition of racism – an accusation of which can end a career – has been inflated to mean whatever the accuser wants it to mean. Please can we have today’s accepted definition, and be told why Dr King’s needed mending?
Bladon, Oxfordshire
sir – It is all very well for Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, to condemn anti-muslim rhetoric, but he seems to have faciliated police inaction against racial hatred of Jews, which has been prominent in weekly protest marches in his city.
Barnet, Hertfordshire
sir – It is unusual for me to admire the French, but their deportation last week of Mahjoub Mahjoubi, an Islamist radical who reportedly abused the French flag, within 12 hours of him being arrested, is a supreme example of how, by comparison, we get so many things wrong is this absurd country. sir – When we vigorously oppose Hamas, Isis, al-qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood, that does not mean we are anti-muslim. Many Muslims, perhaps most, and many Palestinians, oppose them too. Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Muslims (and many Palestinians) have been murdered by these fanatics, including Anwar Sadat, Egypt’s former president.
When we vigorously oppose the extreme Right wing in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, that does not mean we are anti-semitic. Most Jews, most Israelis, oppose these fanatics too. Indeed, Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s former prime minister, was murdered by one with similar views.
Those who do not understand these fundamental differences within each community should abstain from publicly commenting on Islamophobia and anti-semitism. We Britons already have enough problems without increasing ethnic conflict here.