ASYLUM & ANTI-MUSLIM RHETORIC

The 'half-house-trained polecat' of British politics (Norman Tebbit, as described by Michael Foot) has thus been able to link asylum with Muslims, albeit in an ironic vein when criticising the Conservative's lack of political clout:

"It is their tactics and presentation which are plaguing the Tories and turning off the electors. Despite the ramblings and spoutings of the overexcitable and scarcely rational children in Central Office, the nation is not possessed by an overwhelming urge to fill the shadow Cabinet with 25-year-old black lesbians and homosexual, asylum-seeking Muslims. Alan Duncan’s totally unsurprising announcement that he is ‘gay’ has on them the impact of a powder puff flung at an elephant. Britain is a very tolerant country. The great mass of us have no desire to emulate Mr Duncan’s activities under his duvet; we do not think it our business exactly what he does do there; we do not wish to join in; we just wish profoundly that he would not bore us with his sexual problems. We would prefer him to get on with finding answers to our problems of healthcare, crime, pensions, excessive taxation, uncontrolled mass immigration, traffic congestion, lousy schools, environmental pollution and more. "
(The Spectator 27 April 2002)

(http://www.spectator.co.uk/article.php3?table=old&section=back&issue=2002-04-27&id=2119&searchText=)

The insouciance and lack of sensitivity by leading politicians is changing the political culture - alarmist and derogatory references to asylum seekers are become a thinly veiled substitute for prejudices against Muslims.

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