British MP attacks ‘Islamophobia’ in NZ
by Dylan Quinnell
A British MP has warned against the dangers of letting Islamophobia - a fear of Islam and Muslims - take hold in New Zealand.
George Galloway voiced his concerns at two meetings held in Auckland last week, and warned that New Zealanders had to be careful not to let fallout from the “international war on terror” sour race relations in this country.
Both meetings were well attended. At one meeting held at the Auckland Girls Grammar auditorium, people even had to be turned away after the venue’s 800 seat capacity was reached.
Galloway argued that along side almost all wars runs a propaganda campaign, and the ‘war on terror’ is no different.
“In order to pump your young men off to fight Johnny foreigner you need to convince him that the other side is evil. It’s hard to do,” he said.
He then drew attention to the dangerous backlash this propaganda can cause within nations such as Britain and New Zealand.
“How can an undiscerning person be expected to understand that Johnny Muslim overseas is evil, but Tommy Muslim down the road isn’t?” added Galloway.
Galloway’s three steps to repair relations between the West & Islam
- It needs to be recognised that Palestinians are victims of injustice and something needs to be done;
- Western forces need to leave occupied Muslim lands, because occupation will only continue to breed resistance; and
- The West needs to stop ‘propping up’ the puppet kings and tyrants ruling much of the Muslim world, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The outspoken MP also spoke of the dilemma of allowing diversity of opinion in New Zealand but not allowing what he refers to as “hate speech” to gain hold.
Mr Galloway was dumped by the Labour Party and banned from the British parliament in 2003 for campaigning against the war in Iraq.
George Galloway was invited to New Zealand by the Residents Action Movement, who are planning to campaign against Islam0phobia in October’s local body elections.
Further Reading
George Galloway’s website
NZ Herald online article about the ‘Mosques and Miracles’ conferences
Scoop backgrounder on Galloway