Warsi convinces UK Govt. to practically tackle Islamophobia.

According to the sources, the UK government has accepted that Islamophobia in the Britain is socially acceptable now and in order to wipe out the menace, it has formulated a cross-government working group to deal with anti-Muslim hatred.

The group formulation is inspired by the model of anti-Semitism group which was formed by the previous Labor government for the Jewish community in Britain and has become a highly influential cross-government group dealing with anti-Jewish sentiments.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) is chairing the group for Muslims. The group has representatives from across government including the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. It was learnt that the group will also include leading UK academicians as Dr. Chris Allen from Birmingham University and Dr. Matthew Goodwin from Nottingham University.

The prominent Muslims across Britain have also been given representation in the group that includes Imam Qari Asim from Leeds Makkah Masjid, Akeela Ahmed from Muslim Youth Helpline and Fiyaz Mughal of Faith Matters. They will serve as key members of the group.

The Muslim community in Britain has warmly welcomed the effort of the government and hoped that the group will help portray the positive and moderate posture of the Muslims and will help non-Muslims remove misconceptions about the Muslims living in their neighbors and working at the same office.

The formation of the group is linked back to the speech of the first Muslim Cabinet Minister in UK, Baroness Warsi, in January 2011 at Leicester University where she warned the government against the intolerance and prejudice fast prevailing in the society against Muslims and becoming a normal practice of the non-Muslims.

Baroness Warsi was though criticized for raising such a sensitive issue forcefully in media. But later on, the issue drew the attention of many influential politicians and civil society and became a burning question in media that how the Muslims are being mistreated in Britain and they are becoming intolerable for the non-Muslims without any reason.

Peter Oborne of Daily Telegraph showed great interest in the social menace and wrote a pamphlet with James Jones called “Muslims Under Siege.” He also produced and presented a Channel Four Film on Islamophobia.

When Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010, Baroness Warsi had also discussed the issue of Islamophobia with him and requested him to help her in creating better understanding between Europe and its Muslim citizens.

It is a fact that Muslims are the targets of hostility in Britain and other parts of the world after 9/11 attacks in the USA. Large processions have been organized against Muslims in Britain and anti-Muslim networks are established across Europe.

Faith Matters, a non-profit group, has developed and launched a system called MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) that will record statistical data on the nature of Islamophobia in Britain. The service will help the Britain government to curb the anti-Muslims sentiments where they are in excess and keep the record of the victims of Islamophobia.