No one can say the Tories haven’t occasionally promised to tackle Islamophobia. No one can say they’ve actually followed through on it, either – but still – the thought is there.
Do as they sort of say – not as they definitely do
The Tories have a problem when it comes to Islamophobia. On the one hand, they want to:
- Bomb Muslim people.
- Sell weapons to other people who bomb Muslim people.
- Maintain an imbalanced neoliberal system that’s particularly imbalanced towards BAME people.
- Be friends with the sort of people who are openly Islamophobic.
- Run Islamophobic political campaigns.
- Say Islamophobic things and claim it was a ‘joke’ if people get pissed off.
- Possibly at some point trademark the word ‘Islamophobia’.
On the other hand, they also don’t want people to think they’re Islamophobic. You know – in case it loses them votes.
To try and maintain this fine balance, Theresa May said:
Let me be clear, no one is more committed towards saying they’re committed towards saying there might be a problem than me. I have no idea why someone would think Muslims aren’t welcome in predominantly white countries. Please take my word for that, and do not Google my history as home secretary.
Solutions
Islamophobia is clearly a global issue. The PM could investigate how it’s spread by corporate media – could even investigate how it’s spread by her own government. Or she could tweet more empty platitudes and carry on as normal.
As May seems completely incapable of questioning her own actions, it’s easy to imagine which approach will win out.
Featured image via Kuhlmann MSC – Wikimedia
