Prejudice against Muslims seen as ‘socially acceptable’

The Conservative Party chairman is expected to use a speech at Leicester University today to make the comments, warning also that the “patronising, superficial way” faith is discussed in the UK makes the situation worse.

Baroness Warsi will say that terrorist acts committed by a minority should not be used to “tar all Muslims” – but she will stress that Muslim communities need to be clearer in their condemnation of violent extremism.

Those who commit criminal acts of terrorism…should face social rejection and alienation across society. Baroness Warsi

“Those who commit criminal acts of terrorism in our country need to be dealt with not just by the full force of the law. They also should face social rejection and alienation across society and their acts must not be used as an opportunity to tar all Muslims,” she will say.

‘Fairly’ Muslim

Lady Warsi will also warn that dividing Muslims into “moderates” and “extremists” fuels misunderstanding and intolerance.

“It is not a big leap of imagination to predict where talk of ‘moderate’ Muslims leads,” she said.

“In the factory, where they’ve just hired a Muslim worker, the boss says to his employees: ‘Not to worry, he’s only fairly Muslim. In the school, the kids say: ‘The family next door are Muslim but they’re not too bad.’ And in the road, as a woman walks past wearing a burka, the passers-by think: ‘That woman’s either oppressed or is making a political statement.”

The Daily Telegraph, which obtained a copy of the speech, suggests that Lady Warsi raised the issue of Islamophobia with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Britain last year, when she asked him to “create a better understanding between Europe and its Muslim citizens.”