If ever you needed proof that the Labour Party is beholden to Muslim voters, and increasingly sees itself in a battle for the sectarian Muslim vote against the Greens, then the cynical attacks they’ve launched against Nick Timothy this week have provided it.
Nick Timothy, the Shadow Justice Secretary, pointed out that the proclaiming of the Muslim Adhan in Trafalgar Square, a public space of national symbolism, and the leading of mass Islamic prayers by Sadiq Khan, was not an innocuous display of public worship, but an intrusion of Islamic cultural domination into the public sphere.
The argument also completely explodes the fiction that Labour’s introduction of a definition for “anti-Muslim hatred” was a benign act of minority-protection. Clearly it is already being weaponised to stifle criticism of the religion.
My guest this week, Emma Trimble, has had her own experiences of attempted cancellation for criticising Islam. She was subjected to appalling abuse after highlighting that many of the Pakistani rape gangs were motivated, to some extent at least, by a desire to dominate and humiliate the women of other religions – something which was well-attested to by witnesses and survivors at Rupert Lowe’s rape gang inquiry.
Emma also brings her specific perspective as a practicing Christian. As you will hear during our discussion, I disagree with her to some extent on the best way to tackle the Islamist threat to our society, but we both agree that it must be taking extremely seriously.