British Muslim leaders have offered a withering assessment of both Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson‘s failure to uproot racism from their parties.
They are standing shoulder to shoulder with the Chief Rabbi, who today made a blistering attack on the credibility of the Labour leader’s candidacy for prime minister in light of his raging anti-Semitism crisis.
And the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) simultaneously claimed the Conservatives have a ‘blind spot’ for Islamophobia.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis today issued a damning verdict of Mr Corbyn and declared him ‘unfit for high office’ because he had not stamped out anti-Semites from his party.
He said the ‘poison’ of anti-Semitism seeps through Labour and is being ‘sanctioned from the very top’ – making the prospects of a Corbyn government terrifying to the country’s Jews.
This afternoon, the MCB rallied round the Chief Rabbi and agree with his observation that ‘some politicians have shown courage but too many have sat silent’ when confronted with racism.
The Muslim Council of Britain are standing shoulder to shoulder with the Chief Rabbi’s damning of Jeremy Corbyn’s failure to uproot anti-Semitism
They are also simultaneously ripping Boris Johnson’s Tories for ‘denial’ over allegations of Islamophobia
The group said in a statement: ‘Today’s announcement by the Chief Rabbi highlights the real fear many British Jews have, regarding the unacceptable presence of anti-Semitism in Britain and politics today.
‘Racism wherever it comes from – whether from the left or the right – is unacceptable and not enough is being done.’
But they also used their platform to hit out at the Tory party for struggling to get to grips with Islamophobia.
They said: ‘As a faith community, we commonly feel threatened by Islamophobia. This is an issue that is particularly acute in the Conservative Party who have approached Islamophobia with denial, dismissal and deceit.
‘It is abundantly clear to many Muslims that the Conservative Party tolerate Islamophobia, allow it to fester in society…
‘It is as if the Conservative Party has a blind spot for this type of racism.’
The religious leaders’ scathing remarks prompted a response from the UK’s first Muslim chancellor, Sajid Javid, who vowed to launch an inquiry into Islamophobia in his party.
He told a news conference in Manchester the Conservative party would ‘never, ever, as a party, tolerate anyone amongst our ranks that has any kind of prejudice to any group of people whether based on their race, or their religion, or their gender.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis today issued a damning verdict of the Labour leader and declared him ‘unfit for high office’ because of his failed to root out racists from his party
‘Because some members of the Muslim community and others are saying, and I understand this, is there more that you can do, in your procedures as a party, to root out anti-Muslim hatred? … That’s why we will have an inquiry into what more we can do.’
Racism in political parties jumped up the election campaign agenda this morning when the Chief Rabbi wrote an article in the Times in which he picked apart Mr Corbyn’s claim to have stamped out anti-Semitism as a ‘mendacious fiction’.
His comments sparked support from across the religious divide, including from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
He said: ‘That the Chief Rabbi should be compelled to make such an unprecedented statement at this time ought to alert us to the deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews.’
The Chief Rabbi’s comments came as Mr Corbyn unveiled his ‘race and faith’ election pitch to religious groups.
At the campaign event in London, he said: ‘There is no place whatsoever for anti-Semitism in our society, our country, or in my party’, adding that since he became leader of Labour the party has adopted a disciplinary process that did not exist before.
He said when people have committed anti-Semitic acts they are ‘brought to book and if necessary expelled from the party or suspended or asked to be educated better about it’.
He added: ‘I’ve also introduced an education system within the party.
‘I want to live in a country where people respect each other’s faith. I want to live in a country where people feel secure to be Jewish, to be Muslim, to be Hindu, to be Christian.
‘I want to lead a Government that has an open door to all of the faith leaders.
‘So, I invite the Chief Rabbi, I invite the Archbishop of Canterbury, I invite all the other faith leaders to come talk to us about what their concerns are.
‘But be absolutely clear of this assurance from me – no community will be at risk because of their identity, their faith, their ethnicity or their language.’
