• The grooming scandal narrative has been distorted to unfairly target Muslims and Pakistanis, with Islamophobes exploiting the situation to propagate their agenda.
• This article examines the commentary surrounding this debate, supported by facts and statistics. It addresses the remarks made by Islamophobes.
I’d like to preface this discussion with the following: the abuse of vulnerable young girls in Rotherham is nothing short of abhorrent and despicable. As a Muslim, I categorically condemn those responsible for these monstrous acts. Islam commands us to uphold justice, righteousness, and moral integrity, even when it requires standing against our own. Such atrocities have no place in any society, and they must be denounced without hesitation. However, something remarkable has been happening over the course of this week: a horrendous display of high-handed hypocrisy and a distortion of facts.
As the Office for National Statistics reports, White British people make up 83% of the population but represent 88% of perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Pakistanis, 2% of the population and 2% of offenders.
Despite this, the narrative continues to be framed as a Muslim/Pakistani problem, with Islamophobes exploiting the situation to fuel their agenda.
The recent mass rape case in France and the Catholic Church scandal have never been labeled as “Christian” or “secular” rape scandals, yet when it comes to Muslims and Islam, such incidents are swiftly and unfairly branded with a religious label. This glaring double standard reveals the deep-rooted bias that distorts the narrative and targets one community unjustly.
Notably, Nazir Afzal and the Crown Prosecution Service concluded that the crimes committed had no religious basis but were instead driven by male dominance and the abuse of power.
Andrew Norfolk who initially wrote about the grooming gang scandal in 2011 seems to have taken a different turn. He was recently asked, “Do you think the victims are being used for political purposes?” 100% he replied. Norfolk condemned the reuse of the abuse of the girls for political gain.
“With the far right, that’s been the case from day one…the slavering thrills..from what is their dream story— remember, innocent white girls, evil Asians, evil Muslims”.
Last night’s episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored was arguably one of the most overtly Islamophobic episodes to date. Morgan set out to examine the topic which had been reignited by Elon Musk. With Jordan Peterson as the primary guest, many Muslims were deeply offended, questioning why an entire hour and seventeen minute- long segment on Muslims and Islam lacked any Muslim representation. Moreover, the Canadian psychologist with far-right affiliations was given the most airtime.
“There are doctrines within Islam which are difficult to square with free liberal Christian democracies”. “Religious justification” (is used) to camouflage and “justify their crimes”, Peterson said.
“There are doctrines within Islam which are difficult to square with free liberal Christian democracies”
“40 out of 50 Muslim majority countries are authoritarian hell holes….The fundamental danger from Islamic fundamentalism is going to come from the U.K. and Europe. We need an International symposium between the Islamic world and the Christian west. This has manifested in the most hideous of ways within the rape cover-up in the U.K.”
“100 % of Protestant or Catholic countries outside of Africa are highly functional democracies— 6% of Muslim majority countries are democracies and they’re not in the highly functioning category”, Peterson said.
Here are some stats for Mr Peterson to reflect upon:
In 2020, it was reported that:
• Acid attacks in London had risen significantly: 78 in 2012, 472 in 2017 and 123 in 2019. • Knife crime has doubled in six years and became 50,000 for first time • The ONS also found that homicides have risen by 7% to 695 offences
Moreover, a study conducted by “Georgetown Women, peace and security” asked females around the world if they feel safe in the city they live. Notably, the UAE revealed the highest percentage, with 98.5% of respondents confirming that they feel safe within their communities and the United Arab Emirates.
Perhaps the most perplexing comments Peterson made were the following: “Everyone knew about it from the Pakistani moderate side”, Peterson said with gusto. And “We leave the moderate Muslims at the mercy of the fundamentalist”. This was a completely contradictory remark since earlier on in the show he was making the case that “there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim”, as “one in four Brits back shariah law”. Shariah law is an intricate set of divine laws that are implemented within an Islamic governing state. It is the Hudud punishments which undoubtedly make the likes of Peterson feel uncomfortable, despite being completely ill informed of what shariah law actually comprises of. The same punishments are being implemented today in certain states in America, which we haven’t heard Peterson make much noise about. Interestingly, a 2019 YouGov poll of Britons who supported the death penalty in relation to specific crimes revealed the following:
• 58% - Murder as a part of a Terrorist act • 57% - Multiple murders • 53%- the Murder of a child • 47%- the Murder of a police officer
“Rich Muslim countries are absolutely awashed in undeserved oil money” Peterson said.
Jordan Peterson is an intelligent man, and one would consequently assume that he is well aware of the vast wealth stolen by the British during colonisation, as well as the immense profits generated through the transatlantic slave trade. Would he argue that Britain was undeserving of this wealth?
Following this segment, Piers Morgan invited a panel of guests to delve deeper into the discussion and analyse Peterson’s remarks.
Among the guests were Natalie Winters the co-host of Steve Bannings’ war room and writer and philosopher of religion, Jack Symes.
“Islam is conducive to pedophilia”, Winters fallaciously remarked. “It’s all in their Qur’an…I’ve read it”. Now as Muslims, it is very apparent who has read the Qur’an and who hasn’t. Symes counteracted what Winters had to say, stating that “no such comments were made in the text”. Winters retorted, you only have to see all the child brides in their countries. Interestingly, as an American, Ms Winters has failed to look in her own back yard:
Furthermore, researchers at ‘Unchained at Last’ concluded about child marriage in the USA, that from 2000-2018, 300,000, 10 year old girls were married to adult men legally in the United States, and that child marriage is legal in 42 states in America.
In 2016, it was reported that 84% Of 12 million married children under 10 are Hindus.
Ella Cockbain’s Report
The following are important conclusions made by Cockbain’s 2020 UCL study regarding the ‘grooming gangs’ scandal:
• The 'grooming gangs' narrative belongs within a broader tendency to racialise crime in political and popular discourse. The classic example is the racialised panic in 1970s Britain in which young black men were cast as 'muggers'.
• Labour MP Jack Straw, while home secretary, notoriously blamed 'grooming' on regressive British-Pakistani culture, arranged marriages and views of white girls as 'easy meat'. His comments not only farcically implied that raping children is the natural alternative to premarital sex but furthered myths that 'repressed sexuality' drives abuse and perpetrated.
• Orientalist stereotypes about Muslim men's 'rapacious sexual appetites.
• Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham and ironically shadow secretary of state for women and equalities resigned from the frontbench after writing an article for The Sun, titled 'British Pakistani men ARE raping and exploiting white girls... and it's time we faced up to it.....These people are predators, and the common denominator is their ethnic heritage, claiming she was speaking out as she could no longer 'shy away from doing the right thing by fearing being called a racist'.
• The Times' portrayal of 'grooming' as a distinct and racialised crime threat rests on 'misconceptions, anecdote, opinion and the deliberate manipulation of limited statistics of dubious provenance. The coverage proved inflammatory and has set the news agenda in the decade since. The journalist behind the story was correspondent Andrew Norfolk. Norfolk was soon after promoted to Chief Investigative Reporter for 'The Times.'
In light of the recent surge in Islamophobia, it is evident that the narrative surrounding issues such as the grooming debate has been deliberately distorted to unjustly target Muslim and Pakistani communities. This pernicious shift in discourse enables Islamophobes to manipulate such incidents, perpetuating damaging stereotypes and exacerbating societal rifts. The consequences are not merely rhetorical; they manifest in tangible harm, as evidenced by the far-right riots last summer, where such rhetoric incited physical violence.
