Matthew Foxwell

When the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church was exposed, there was massive public outcry from Catholics. But with Pakistani-Muslim grooming gangs, I’ve seen hardly any Muslims condemn the atrocities committed by their own. “But It’s not all Muslims” Yes, like it wasn’t all Catholics. But they still condemned the actions of the minority and accepted the failings that were enabled and covered-up by members of their community. In fact, there was widespread disgust and demands for swift justice on behalf of the victims. Pedophile priests were prosecuted and church leaders ousted for facilitating abuse. Yet, I’ve seen Muslims trying to blame the victims, suggest that their “lifestyle” or decisions caused the abuse, downplay the scale of grooming gangs, or even simply claim Islamophobia. Why does accountability apply to everyone except one demographic? Why could other religions condemn the evil perpetrated by members of their faith but it’s “racist” to expect the Muslim community to do the same? Why?

I went on TV to discuss Pakistani grooming gangs in my Labour-run hometown of Telford. The next day, officers came banging on my door. They ignored victims for decades, but tried to intimidate me for blasting their failings Labour doesn’t care. They didn’t then, they don’t now.