By IRNA,
London : Britain’s only Muslim cabinet minister warned Thursday that Islamophobia has grown so much in the UK that it has become socially accepted.
The bigotry against Muslims has “passed the dinner-table test” and is seen by many as normal and uncontroversial, said Conservative joint chair Baroness Warsi.
In a speech at Leicester University in central England, Warsi also warned against attempts to categorise Muslims as either “moderate” or “extremist” saying it fosters growing prejudice.
She also suggested that ‘the patronising, superficial way faith is discussed in certain quarters, including the media’ makes Britain a less tolerant place for believers, according to advance extracts of her speech published by the Daily Telegraph.
Warsi is a 39-year old lawyer of Pakistani descent, who became the first Muslim women and ethnic minority to be appointed to the British cabinet following last year’s general election.
After her appointment, she told the Muslim News that she felt comfortable about his Muslim identity in her role as chair of the Conservative Party and as a cabinet minister.
Several MPs have previously called for the setting up of a parliamentary committee into the rise of Islamophobia in the UK in recent years.
The Muslim Council of Britain has also expressed serious concerns over the growing intolerance and violence against Muslims that has led to the rise of such extreme right wing groups as the English Defence League staging marches around the UK against the building of mosques.