Politics

Most Tory members believe 'Islam is a threat to Western civilisation’


Most Tory members believe ‘Islam is a threat to Western civilisation’ according to a shocking poll which lays bare the scale of the Islamophobia problem in the party.

Hope not Hate have revealed that just 17% of Conservative members agreed that Islam was ‘generally compatible with Western civilisation’.

The same survey showed a shocking 54% thought that Islam was also ‘generally a threat to the British way of life’.

The poll, which was conducted by YouGov revealed that a staggering 60% believe that ‘Islam is generally a threat to Western civilisation’.

It comes as the race to select the country’s next Prime Minister enters its final stage.

The frontrunner Boris Johnson has a history of making offensive remarks – including comparing Muslim women who wear the burqa to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”.

Boris Johnson has refused to apologise for his comments about Muslim women

In a recent interview with Sky’s Sophy Ridge, Boris Johnson said his article describing black people as “picanninies” with “watermelon smiles” was “satirical”.

He defended his articles comparing Muslim women to letterboxes and bank robbers, and said his comments in all of the articles were taken “out of context”.

Tell MAMA, which records Islamophobic hate crime, said there was a “direct link” between the Boris Johnson’s comments comparing Muslim women to “bank robbers” and “letter boxes” and an increase in incidents targeting Muslim women who wear the niqab.

 

The research found that Conservative party members are most likely to think that Islam poses a threat to the British way of life because “Islam breeds intolerance for free speech and calls for violent actions against those who mock, criticise or depict the religion in ways they believe are offensive” – a huge 61% believe this justification

The Tory Party has been beset by allegations that it has a problem with Islamphobia with a string of suspensions for councillors and members who have published offensive comments on social media.

Last month leadership candidate Sajid Javid bounced his rivals into agreeing to an independent inquiry during a live TV debate.

But ex-Tory chairwoman Sayeeda Warsi, who has worked to expose Islamophobia within the party welcomed the commitment but said it was shame they had to be dragged “kicking and screaming”.

Baroness Warsi has worked to expose Islamophobia in the Tory party

The new figures come off the back of HOPE not hate/YouGov polling results released earlier this month, which underline the deeply worrying levels of Islamophobic beliefs among Conservative Party members.

The results, which were published two weeks ago, found that almost half of Conservative Party members said they do not want a Muslim Prime Minister and that only 8% of Tory members would be proud of Britain if we did have a Muslim Prime Minister.

 

Some 40% believe Islamist terrorists reflect a widespread hostility to Britain amongst Muslims; and that 40% want limits on the number of Muslims entering UK.

The poll was conducted by YouGov, with a total sample size of 864 adults. The fieldwork was undertaken between 14th – 18th June 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).





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