Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Almost half of Tories believe Islam is threat to UK life, poll reveals

ALMOST 50 per cent of Conservative Party members believe Islam is a threat to the British way of life, a new poll revealed on Wednesday (30).

According to data compiled by HOPE not hate, 57 per cent of members reported negative attitudes to Muslims while 58 per cent thought it was true there were no-go areas in Britain where Sharia law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter.


The research, commissioned as part of HOPE not hate’s submission to the Conservative Party Inquiry on all forms of racism including Islamophobia, follows years of alleged Islamophobia in the party.

Last year, prime minister Boris Johnson issued an apology for the hurt and offence caused by Islamophobia within the party while former Tory chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has persistently called for a full-fledged inquiry on the claims.

Speaking after the submission of the findings to the inquiry, HOPE not hate CEO Nick Lowles said the Conservative party had to “face up to the widespread anti-Muslim prejudice in its ranks if it ever hopes to eradicate the problem”.

“It’s dispiriting that HOPE not hate has to again call attention to the prejudiced idea held by many within the Tory rank and file that there is a conflict between being Muslim and being British,” Lowles said. “We have also documented further instances of publicly expressed anti-Muslim sentiment from members, activists and councillors and even MPs.

“It’s difficult to argue against the many proofs of the problem, the real question is how bold the Conservatives will be in taking action.”

More For You

China pledges to be a good friend and partner to Bangladesh

Xi Jinping

China pledges to be a good friend and partner to Bangladesh

THE Chinese president, Xi Jinping, last Friday (28) pledged deeper cooperation with his Bangladeshi counterpart Muhammad Yunus in a meeting that came as Dhaka seeks new friends to offset frosty ties with India.

Yunus took charge of Bangladesh last August after the toppling of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after a student-led uprising.

Keep ReadingShow less
Milton-Keynes

Eyewitnesses described hearing shouting before the shooting

iStock

Man shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes railway station

A MAN was shot dead by police outside Milton Keynes Central station after reports that he was carrying a firearm.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) said officers were called to the station at 12:55, where they challenged a suspect carrying a knife. The man moved towards officers before police fired at him.

Keep ReadingShow less
EXCLUSIVE: Eastern Eye wins press freedoms to help judges

SCRUTINY: The tribunal’s favourable verdict is an important win for accountability, say current and retired Asian judges (Pic credit: Getty Images/Leon Neal)

EXCLUSIVE: Eastern Eye wins press freedoms to help judges

A tribunal has ordered the body which appoints judges in England and Wales to disclose records it refused to give to Eastern Eye.

The decision is a major victory for press freedoms because it forces the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to become more open and transparent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sunita-Williams-Reuters

Sunita Williams was part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and had been stranded in space for over nine months. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters)

India looks amazing from space, says Sunita Williams

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams described India as "amazing" from space and expressed her intention to visit her "father's home country" to share her experiences on space exploration.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she responded to a question about how India appeared from space and the possibility of collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Keep ReadingShow less
british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less