AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The British newspaper The Guardian, in an op-ed by Aaron Kundnani, referring to the rise of Islamophobia in Britain, criticized the performance of the country's politicians in confronting it and wrote that the normalization of certain anti-Islamic positions can pave the way for strengthening far-right currents.
In this op-ed, Kundnani, citing the results of a survey in July, wrote that two out of every five British citizens believe Muslims cannot integrate into the country's society. He also referred to research according to which more than half of British Muslims have personally faced some form of anti-Islamic prejudice in the past year, and about one-quarter have had this experience in public places.
The author also referred to the racist riots of two summers ago in Britain, which, according to him, targeted mosques and asylum seeker accommodation centers. Kundnani believes the issue has not been limited to the activities of far-right groups, and what is most worrying is the widespread indifference toward racist violence against Muslims or those perceived as immigrants and Muslims.
Roots of Islamophobia in British Politics
According to The Guardian, Kundnani links the roots of contemporary Islamophobia in Britain to the political and intellectual atmosphere of the 1990s; a period when, after the end of the Cold War, some neoconservative currents considered Islam as the new enemy replacing communism. He also believes that during the so-called "war on terror," this view went beyond the level of political discourse and was reflected in the performance of government institutions.
The author also refers to the "Prevent" policy and claims that within its implementation framework, thousands of public sector employees were trained to consider some ordinary political and religious behaviors of Muslims as signs of extremism. Kundnani, on this basis, argues that Islamophobia cannot be attributed merely to the behavior of extremist individuals, and its structural dimensions must also be considered.
Palestine and the Escalation of Pressure on Muslims
Another part of The Guardian's op-ed is dedicated to the Palestine issue. Kundnani claims that widespread opposition by the British people to the Zionist regime's policies in Gaza has been worrying for part of the country's foreign policy structure, and in this context, some pro-Palestine gatherings have been attributed to supporting or aligning with Islamic extremism.
He also refers to the positions of Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, regarding the protests planned on October 7, 2025, and writes that Starmer called these protests "un-British" and called for judicial action against some controversial slogans. Kundnani believes such an approach can present political protests related to Palestine as a security threat or a "dangerous foreign ideology."
Criticism of the Political Handling of the Islamophobia Issue
In the continuation of this op-ed, the author addresses the obstacles that, according to him, have made raising the issue of anti-Islamic racism difficult in Britain's public sphere. Kundnani writes that in discussions related to Islamophobia, Muslims are usually asked to simultaneously take a position on Islamic extremism and anti-Semitism; while, in his view, the main issue should be creating conditions in which attacks against no religious community can become normalized.
In the final part of his op-ed, Kundnani examines Islamophobia within the broader framework of racism and power relations in British society and believes that discriminatory policies in the field of immigration and borders can also convey a particular social message. In this regard, he refers to the difference in Britain's treatment of Ukrainian and Afghan refugees and warns that the normalization of discrimination against one group can have consequences for other minorities as well. This op-ed ultimately calls for more serious attention by British politicians to the issue of Islamophobia.
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