ACTION ALERT: CALL UPON YOUR MP TO HELP MUSLIM GROUPS COMBAT FAR-RIGHT ISLAMOPHOBIA
Friday September 06 2024
Following the recent Islamophobic far-right riots, a coalition of numerous Muslim civil society organisations and mosques from across Britain – including MEND – is calling upon the government to take greater action to protect and further the safety of Muslim communities. We are asking the government to:
[1] Officially adopt the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) definition of Islamophobia. Having our government officially recognise the definition of Islamophobia is a crucial first step toward tackling it.
[2] Initiate an independent review into far-right activities and the role of social media platforms, mainstream media and political narratives in perpetuating hate. Such a move is a necessary first step toward cracking down on the far-right and regulating the spaces in which it thrives.
[3] Engage with legitimate, democratically elected national representatives of Muslim communities, particularly the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). Muslim communities need to have their interest heard in the halls of government – having robust community representation is a crucial tool for achieving that.
This above three points are extremely important to ensuring that Muslim communities are protected from ever having to face again the kind of Islamophobic violence that we have seen in recent days.
ACT NOW by following this step-by-step guide on how to write to your MP:
Step 1: Scroll below to the box for inputting your postcode
Step 2: Enter your postcode and click “find”
Step 3: Click the ‘send a message’ option found next to your local MP’s photograph
Step 4: Copy and paste the body of the template email below in to your email. (IMPORTANT: EDIT THE EMAIL INTO YOUR OWN WORDS, MPS EMAIL SYSTEMS TEND TO DELETE IDENTICAL COPIES)
Step 5: Fill in the remaining information in the ‘About You’ section
Step 6: Hit “Preview and send”
“Dear [enter MP’s name]
I am writing to call upon you to support a coalition of Muslim civil society groups and mosques who are asking the government to take further policy steps toward fighting Islamophobia following the recent far-right riots across the UK. The group, consisting of [ENTER SOME OF THE GROUP NAMES HERE], is asking the government to do the following: (1) officially adopt the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s definition of Islamophobia. This defines Islamophobia as being “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” (2) Initiate an independent review into far-right activities and the role of social media platforms, mainstream media and political narratives in perpetuating hate. (3) Engage with legitimate, democratically elected national representatives of Muslim communities, particularly the Muslim Council of Britain. I strongly feel that such policy moves are critical to protecting Muslim communities from further Islamophobic violence and intimidation. Your support in parliament would be indispensable.
Yours sincerely,
[Enter your name]”