(National-UAE) Former UK defence and international trade secretary Liam Fox warned that fear of being labelled racist or Islamophobic has left some British politicians hesitant to confront extremist groups, creating what he called a “toxic environment.”
The UK has so far stopped short of following the example of countries such as the UAE, Egypt, Austria and, most recently, Jordan in proscribing the Muslim Brotherhood.
“We’re afraid of being labelled as racist or Islamophobic. You’ve got politicians on the left who are afraid of losing electoral support by tackling these many groups. And the combination of that is a toxic environment,” Mr Fox told the Trends 5th Annual Forum on Political Islam. The conference, held in Abu Dhabi, explored contemporary approaches to ideologically driven extremism.
