Hero imam says Government ‘in denial’ about anti-Muslim hate

A HERO imam who intervened in a terror attack on a London mosque accused the Government of being “in denial” over Islamophobia as Boris Johnson was criticised for saying Muslim women in burkas look like bank robbers.

The former Foreign Secretary was described as a “poundshop Donald Trump” after saying women face-covering veils looked like “letter boxes”, while insisting he opposed a ban on the burka.

His comments, in response to Denmark’s introduction of ban on burkas in public places, sparked an angry response from Muslim organisations and MPs, who accused him of stoking Islamophobia for political gain.

Yorkshire-based Tory former Cabinet Minister Baroness Warsi said Mr Johnson’s “dog whistle” comments were “business as usual” for her party.

The assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Miqdaad Versi, said Mr Johnson was “pandering to the far-right”, while Labour MP David Lammy said: “Our pound-shop Donald Trump is fanning the flames of Islamophobia to propel his grubby electoral ambitions.”

Labour MP Jess Phillips said she would report him to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

And the Tell Mama group, which campaigns against antiMuslim violence, described his comments as “totally unacceptable”.

The timing was embarrassing for the Tories, coming as Finsbury Park imam Mohammed Mahmoud said that the Government’s response to growing antiMuslim violence was “lacklustre, or worse, in denial”.

The faith leader was praised for stepping in to prevent onlookers from attacking a right-wing extremist who drove his van into worshippers outside the north London mosque last year.

Since the attack, he said his congregation had reported rising levels of anti-Muslim abuse, including having headscarves torn off and racist chanting.

“Any community hit by terrorism should see meaningful engagement from the Government,” said Mr Mahmoud. “But we’re still waiting for that to happen – which is not lost on a community that still feels vulnerable.”

He called for “a bold strategy from the Government to combat Islamophobia, as part of a broader effort to challenge the far right”, and said the Conservatives should deliver the internal inquiry demanded by the MCB.

In response, a Government spokesman said: “All hate crimes are absolutely unacceptable.

“They have no place in our society and we will do all we can to make sure that the perpetrators feel the full force of the law and victims get all the support they need.”

The spokesman said the Government was “working closely” with Finsbury Park mosque and pointed to funding provided to Tell Mama to record incidents and £3.4m for security funding for places of worship, promising a hate crime action plan would be published later this year.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery, and said schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student “turns up... looking like a bank robber”.

He also said it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes”.

Terror-hit communities should see engagement from Government. Finsbury Park imam Mohammed Mahmoud