Backlash against Robert Jenrick over his ‘Takbir’ comments should finish him
A backlash against Robert Jenrick over his ‘Takbir’ comments should finish him as a candidate for the Tory leadership – and as a politician, in This Writer’s view.
He said in a TV interview that he thought people calling out “Allahu akbar” in the street should be arrested automatically – most probably because he associates the phrase with terrorism.
In fact, this connection is most often made by ignorant fools like Jenrick himself, together with right-wing media provocateurs who want to stir up racism against Arabs and sectarianism against Muslims.
It is used by Muslim extremists and terrorists, but they have been denounced by other Muslims for doing it. The Takbir is a common Arabic expression, used in Islamic rituals and other social occasions. It is also used by Orthodox Arab Christians as an expression of faith.
And now Jenrick’s ignorance has come back to bite him.
Fellow Tory leadership candidate Mel Stride said Jenrick’s call for wholesale criminalisation of the words was “unwise and insensitive”.
He said:
“Any threat in the use of these words can only ever be implied in the very rarest of circumstances.
“Context clearly matters hugely here.”
He’s right.
But here’s a thought:
Wouldn’t it be ironic if Stride collected a ‘yellow card’ under 1922 Committee chair Robert Blackman’s new system to stop “backbiting and attacking colleagues” by leadership candidates?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
I am not sure that Jenrick is ignorant. It is possible that he knows perfectly well what he is doing.
Anyway, I will leave the final world to Conservative peer Baroness Warsi:
“Every day before we start parliamentary business in the Commons and Lords we say a prayer and praise God – we say our parliamentary version of Allah hu Akbars at the heart of democracy – a process Robert Jenrick is a part of. This language from Jenrick is more of his usual nasty divisive rhetoric – he is such a tool.”
Jenrick: attempted to switch public money from the poorest towns to one in his own constituency in collusion with his mate Jake Berry, that was £25 million each from two towns to two better off towns through The Towns Fund. He also did a favour for Richard Desmond in respect of a large construction dear that enabled Desmond to avoid paying some £50,000,000. He has the instincts of a crook, I bet there is much more somewhere …
The remarks aren’t serious. He knows full well he wouldn’t be able to do this and wouldn’t even be backed by his own party (as nasty as they are) No, this is for the consumption of the rank and file Tory members who could, eventually, get to vote for him. No doubt they’re lapping it up..