RNA - “The Conservative Party is very dominantly Islamophobic; it is very openly Islamophobic, to the extent that even some Muslim-background individuals like Sajid Javid who is Home Secretary, he has also behaved extremely discriminatory towards Muslims,” Massoud Shadjareh said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.
Commenting on recent warnings about UK Environment Minister Michael Gove and his increased chances of becoming the next prime minister, Shadjareh said the Conservative lawmaker is quite known for his negative views on Muslims.
“Michael Gove is a sort of neocon in the Conservative Party, his views on Muslims are very publicly known and not very positive ... he is in many ways a committed Islamophobe,” said Shadjarah.
The analyst reiterated, however, that the general mood in the Conservative Party and its approach toward the Muslims was worrying.
“I think what is really worrying is not just individuals who are Islamophobic in Conservative Party but the whole of the Conservative Party, the Conservative Party, especially in recent years, have been dominated by neocons and those who see Muslims as others.”
The expert said taking on individuals like Gove or Javid as senior Islamophobes would not resolve the problem of increasing hate crime against Muslims in the UK and other countries.
“We are living currently in environment of hate which has been created by politicians and media ... this environment is very poisonous and people are affected by it,” Shadjarah said, adding, “The reality is that this environment of hate needs to be tackled we need to create ... a healthy environment where demonizing the Muslim community becomes unacceptable.”