HUMZA Yousaf was yesterday “bombarded” with anti-Muslim abuse just minutes after discussing Islamophobia on live radio.
The Europe and International Development Minister was a guest on the BBC Asian Network when host Nihal Arthanayake questioned him about issues including identity and prejudice.
Following the show, which was broadcast live from the Edinburgh Festival, he tweeted: “Literally less than 10 minutes after posting about tackling extremism I get bombarded by these Islamophobic trolls.”
Moments before coming off air, Yousaf, from Glasgow, had been asked about anti-Muslim sentiment in Scotland, answering: “I would never look at Scotland through rose-tinted spectacles.
“Islamophobia exists as much in Scotland just as I think it exists in parts of England.
“I would saw that we are certainly more tolerant than some parts but there is certainly Islamophobia here in Scotland and I wouldn’t try to say otherwise.”
He added: “Let’s not pretend Scotland is some kind of utopia. It’s not, there are problems.
“I have lived here all my life, I have been the victim of some of that.”
Abuse yesterday included personal attacks on the MSP, branding him “chief Islamist worm among many” in Scottish politics.
Other messages denigrated migrants at Calais, another topic raised in the show. Addressing the issue, Yousaf said “the voices of government” at Westminster had contributed to prejudice, saying: “The Scottish Government’s language has been very different. It has been a lot more inclusive, even if it is the debate around immigration for example.
“A lot of the debate around immigration whether it is [migrants in] Calais or those crossing the Mediterranean, it’s all warped into that discussion about extremism.”
Yousaf retweeted some of the messages yesterday in an effort to highlight the abuse.
He has also reported the slurs to Twitter and to Police Scotland. However, the episode is just the latest example of abuse targeted against Scotland’s most high-profile Muslim politician.
He told The National: “I think it’s important to note whenever these incidents happen that the voices we get and the views of tolerance will often outweigh the negative, racist, bigoted voices.
“I always try to put it in that perspective.
“All that being said, it is still quite hurtful whether this has happened for the first time or the hundredth time if somebody picks on your identity.
“It reminds you that there is a challenge to change negative perceptions.”
Turning to the comments about the current migrant crisis, he said: “Politicians have a really important job to ensure the language they use doesn’t inflame and doesn’t give any momentum to racists, to bigots.
“I would encourage anyone who has suffered any kind of online abuse, whether it’s racist or homophobic, to report it.
“I do it all the time.”
Responding to Yousaf’s online comment, Tory leader Ruth Davidson called the trolling “totally unacceptable”.
She said: “When will folk recognise that Twitter isn’t a special case. What is wrong in real life is wrong online too.”
The controversy comes ahead of a planned one-day conference on Islamophobia in Glasgow. Organisers Amina, the Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, aim to bring members of the public together with representatives from across Scottish society to discuss the topic in a landmark summit in October.
Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg, director of prisoner advocacy group Cage, is among those billed to be speaking at the event, which is still in the planning stages.
Amina MWRC director Smina Akhtar told The National: “Nobody knows the extent of the problem because there is so much under-reporting.
“It is time to try and find out what the real picture is.”
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