Zarah Sultana criticises ‘anti-Muslim’ media rhetoric amid wave of violence and rioting
Zarah Sultana has criticised the UK Government and media companies for failing to call out a series of riots across the country as “Islamophobic”, arguing that the riots were a “culmination” of years of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the media.
The Coventry South MP has also said that she is ‘more conscious than ever’ of her security amid the “truly frightening” situation across the country.
A wave of riots and violence broke out across the UK after three young girls were tragically killed in a horrific knife attack in Southport on 29 July. Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged between six and nine, were all killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event held at a community studio in the town.
17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, originally from Cardiff, was detained and arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene, with the police believing there was no further danger to the public.
In the absence of information, false claims about the suspect’s religion ravaged social media, resulting in a swarm of Islamophobic and anti-immigrant posts
Due to UK laws, which make the identification of a suspect who is a minor before legal proceedings begin a criminal offence, little information was initially released about Rudakubana’s identity.
However, in the absence of information, false claims about the suspect’s religion ravaged social media, resulting in a swarm of Islamophobic and anti-immigrant posts. Since then, Islamophobic and far-right riots have broken out across England and Northern Ireland, with mosques, accommodation housing asylum seekers, cars, and buildings – including a library in Liverpool – all being attacked.
Despite the violence, and a leaked online list of further planned riots, thousands took to the streets across the country on 7 August to join peaceful anti-racism protests whilst the planned anti-immigration riots failed to materialise.
Speaking in the wake of the riots, Sultana – who currently sits as an Independent MP – reflected that the far-right groups inciting the rioting did “not reflect the majority of the British public”. However, she added that the rhetoric surrounding the riots has highlighted the danger of misinformation. She urged social media companies to work harder to “tackle online information that has spread a lot of this violence across our communities.”
This is the culmination of decades of front pages that have demonised and scapegoated Muslims, refugees and migrants
Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South
Ms Sultana astutely acknowledged that racism and anti-immigration are not new concepts for the United Kingdom, arguing that their roots and origins are intertwined in the country’s culture and everyday life.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Sultana said that the riots needed to be called out by the government and media as “racist and Islamophobic”, adding that “language is really important” in the reporting of the riots.
Despite being challenged over her remarks by presenters Kate Garraway and Ed Balls, Sultana defended her claims that Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had not called the riots ‘Islamophobic’, and added that one report in the Daily Telegraph called the riots “a counter-protest by Muslims”.
This is unacceptable and deeply uncomfortable viewing. An entire white panel questioning a brown woman like a suspect
Narinder Kaur, broadcaster and Good Morning Britain panellist
Garraway and Balls’ handling of the interview was later criticised by viewers as “callous” and “reckless”, with broadcaster and regular Good Morning Britain panellist Narinder Kaur writing on X that: “This is unacceptable and deeply uncomfortable viewing. An entire white panel questioning a brown woman like a suspect. Ed Balls and Kate [Garraway] have left their homes this morning with no fear. Zarah and every other brown/black person left knowing they are a target.”
More than 8,200 complaints were also lodged to Ofcom over the interview, with viewers criticising the presenters’ handling of the interview – including claims of a potential conflict of interest, as Balls is married to Ms Cooper, the Home Secretary.
With growing levels of ‘dangerous’ online misinformation, there have been increased calls for social media and news platforms to take responsibility for their reporting and to provide accurate information to the public without bias and narratives which are so commonly found to target specific groups of people.
Sultana has said that the identification of the rioters’ behaviour as “Islamophobic” by media outlets including the BBC is only a small step in tackling the ingrained anti-immigration culture in the UK, adding that: “The enemy of the working class travels by private jet, not migrant dinghy.”
Comments