British Newspaper, The Times, Repeatedly Gives Voice to Racist Views and Islamophobic Narratives

The British daily newspaper, the Times, has recently published three highly concerning articles promoting racist and Islamophobic tropes. Moreover, the articles echo vile conspiracy theories, dehumanising and disrespecting the diverse communities of the UK.    

On 29th of May 2022, columnist, David Quinn, published an opinionated and classist article, titled:” Choosing who to welcome here is not racist”.    

Although we live in a country that promotes freedom of speech, the Times editorial team enables unethical journalism that emphasizes stereotypical and discriminatory tropes against religious minorities. The title of this article reveals the colour-blindness of his argument. The framing of the war in Ukraine is used to justify his racial microaggressions, and defend his argument that it is not racist to choose which type of people are welcomed in the UK. David Quinn's insensitive rejection of discrimination, places refugees from a minority ethnic group at the margins of the media discourse; it dehumanises them and contributes to the normalisation of structural racism within different institutions in the UK.   

It is highly concerning that The Times gives voice to columnists from privileged backgrounds, to spread misinformation and narratives that deny the experiences of those who are discriminated against. Reporting stories of people from different ethnic backgrounds and diverse religions demands a level of empathy, solidarity, and education. The Times later changed the headline for Claims that Irish policy Towards refugees is racist are mistaken. Despite modifying the title after publication, the body of this article still contains the racist framing of comparing Ukrainian and Black refugees.   

Denying people's pain and struggles and measuring their human rights according to the colour of their skin and religion, is racist. Journalists must acknowledge their privilege and bias when reporting these stories, as opinions and assumptions do not count as expertise.      

To express our disappointment towards this unethical media coverage, the Media Diversity Institute (MDI) submitted an official complaint to the editorial team of the Times stating:   

‘Perpetuating racist and discriminatory sentiments with inflammatory rhetoric increases readership but has consequences on the safety of asylum seekers.’ We still have not received any response to this formal complaint.   

On the 16th of June 2022, the Times published another anti-Muslim article written by columnist James Forsyth titled: ‘Islamism is a greater threat than the far right.’ This derogatory title is problematic as it uses the word 'greater', manipulating readers to label Muslim communities as extremists, armed jihadist groups and terrorism masters. This stereotypical language might generate fear and hatred against Muslim communities and normalise far-right ideologies and white supremacist discourses as heroes trying to save society against the Islamists.    

A few days after the publication of this Islamophobic article, another anti-Muslim article by columnist, Melanie Phillips, was published on 20th of June 2022, titled: It is not anti-Muslim to denounce extremism. The writer continues with the dangerous rhetoric of downplaying and denying Islamophobia, dismissing verbal and physical, systemic discrimination against Muslims.    

Melanie Phillips was red flagged by the Hope Not hate campaigning organisation report in 2020, as one of the UK's 22 ‘key Islamophobes’.   

In this article, the author criticizes Hope not Hate for spreading a smear campaigns against her and for silencing the voices of the truth about 'Islamic extremism', accusing her of being far-right' and becoming a 'neo-Nazi'.   

In her previous writings, she defined Islamophobia as ‘the term used to silence all criticism of the Muslim world, including Islamic extremism’ and warned readers not to ‘fall for bogus claims of “Islamophobia”.’ Such discriminatory representations not only deny the experiences of those who are discriminated against for being Muslim, but also presents them as victimisers who undermine other people's right to free speech.    

  In this opinion piece, not only does Phillips make bigoted claims, but she also belittles and denies the discrimination experienced by Muslims. 

Melanie Phillips writes from a position of privilege, blurring the line between Muslims and terrorists, using her opinions to spread misinformation and lies that can cause fear and incite violence and hate speech against the Muslim community.   

These systematic, anti-Muslim articles in the Times are problematic and controversial. Nevertheless, associating Muslims with terrorism reinforces hatred and fear of Muslim people. Such inflammatory articles put Muslim communities and people of colour in danger of being continuously discriminated against and stigmatised. It reinforces the stereotype that Muslims advocate for terrorism and Black refugees are not welcome in Western societies.