On 26 Feb 2024, The Telegraph published an article claiming Sadiq Khan ‘was shortlisted as “Islamophobe of the year” by the Islamic Human Rights Commission for his efforts to proscribe the political wing of Hezbollah.’ We reject this claim.
Khan was nominated for the Islamophobia Awards in 2018 by members of the public, primarily due to a perceived reluctance to challenge anti-Muslim hatred faced by his constituents.
Specifically, he remained silent about hate directed at Al-Quds Day 2017 and pro-Palestinian activism, resulting in deadly consequences that year.
The 2017 Al-Quds Day shows us that political and media Islamophobia have deadly consequences for Muslims.
0n 19 June 2017, Darren Osborne drove a van into a crowd of Muslims near Finsbury Park Mosque mosque killing Makram Ali, 51, and injuring nine others. Osborne, from Cardiff, was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. His intended target had been the Al-Quds Day march and rally but he failed to find a way of reaching it because of traffic restrictions.
Sue Hemming, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Darren Osborne planned and carried out this attack because of his hatred of Muslims.”
Many in the Muslim community still believe that in seeking mainstream acceptance, Khan has refrained from addressing the escalating anti-Muslim hatred within his city, to avoid being labelled partisan or an Islamist (although this tactic has not proven to be successful for him).
Contrary to The Telegraph’s assertion that the IHRC nominated Khan for his efforts in proscribing Hezbollah, this claim is unfounded and is a deliberate falsehood.
Such misinformation is designed to undermine a Muslim civil society organisation, reflecting the publication’s history of obsessively publishing virulently anti-Muslim articles.
