Muslim Caller Powerfully Calls Out 'Normalised Prejudice' About Islam

13 October 2019, 09:22

Mohammed, from Shoreditch, told Matt that it's common for people to ask him preloaded questions which show an underlying prejudice about Islam.

Mohammed told Matt Stadlen: "I'm born and raised my entire life in Shoreditch and never have I ever felt prejudice like this and now I just think it's like normalised. Just to say horrific comments like, tar a whole community, 2 billion people, on the actions of a few.

The number of people I speak to and - I'm a cabbie - and certain people just say preloaded questions and actually think that everything in the newspapers, they believe it. It's crazy. More definitely needs to be done."

Matt asked about whether he had any examples of this.

Mohammed replied: "Example, a couple of days ago, very wealthy men which I dropped off from London all the way to Southampton. They deal with stocks and shares, supposedly very educated but clearly ignorant, asked me a preloaded question: why do Muslim men like to groom English women? Why is acceptable in my religion? Which is the daftest thing I've ever heard in my life.

"I obviously asked them where they got this information - clearly from a few isolated incidents in Rochdale - but nowhere in my religion does it say them. I asked them, if I hold you accountable for 90 per cent of all paedophiles are generally white men - I'm not going to point fingers - if I now say to you and your family, you know what, can you answer for this?

"Is this acceptable? I don't think it's acceptable for me to turn around and start pointing fingers for the actions of one or two people.

"To say all Muslims, you're insulting me, anyone I know, my mother, my daughter. This is horrific. Do we not have compassion? Do we not have sensibility?

I just think it's really, really stupid. I can't believe in 2019 that we have people like this."