British-Muslims fear for their future under Johnson govt

British-Muslims have said that they feared for their future under a new Boris Johnson government after his landslide win in the December 12 general election, a media report said on Saturday.

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has called on the Prime Minister, who has been personally accused of Islamophobia, to reassure British-Muslims of their place in the UK, metro.co.uk said in the report. 

Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB, said that as ruling Conservative celebrated their win, there was a "palpable sense of fear" among Muslim communities around the country. 

"We entered the election campaign period with long standing concerns about bigotry in our politics and our governing party. Now we worry that Islamophobia is ‘oven-ready' for government. 

"Johnson has been entrusted with huge power, and we pray it is exercised responsibly for all Britons," Khan said.

In the December 12 election, Johnson gained a Commons majority of 80, his party's largest since since Margaret Thatcher triumphed in 1987, and in contrast, the opposition Labour suffered its worst election result since the 1930s

The warning from MCB came as Sayeeda Warsi, a former Conservative co-chair and Cabinet Minister, said the party "must start healing its relationship with British Muslims", the mirror.co.uk report said. 

In a tweet on Friday, she said: "Independent Inquiry into Islamophobia is a must first step. The battle to root out racism must now intensify."

During campaigning, the Prime Minister had apologised for hurt caused to the Muslim community by his party, but stopped short of saying sorry for offensive comments which included comparing Muslim women who wear the burqa to letterboxes. IANS