UK Muslim lawmaker says he, his family face regular racial abuse, verbal attacks

Pro-Palestinian independent British lawmaker Shockat Adam says he and his family face regular racial abuse and verbal attacks, as the United Kingdom is reeling from the worst racially-fueled Islamophobic insurgency.

Adam, 51, defeated Jon Ashworth, the shadow cabinet minister for Labour, in the Leicester South constituency of the East Midlands during the UK's general election held early last month, declaring “this is for Gaza” as he won the seat in the parliament.

In an interview with the UK-based news website Middle East Eye published on Thursday, Adam revealed he and his family face regular racial abuse and verbal attacks, explaining that he started facing significant racial abuse during the general election campaign.

“People from my team were often racially abused when they knocked on doors or polling day," the independent politician said.

His son was greeted with the P-word while standing outside a polling station, Adam said. 

Adam noted that the abuse has persisted even after the vote. “I have faced a torrent of abuse online and in real life, as have people in my family.”

Leicester South has long been a stronghold for the Labour party, with only a short interruption from the Liberal Democrats in 2004 and 2005. Since 1987, the constituency in the East Midlands has consistently elected Labour MPs.

But Adam, a local independent with no previous involvement in politics, changed the game after unseating Ashworth, the shadow cabinet minister for Labour, who had been serving as a Labour party lawmaker since 2011, elected four times into the role.

'This is for Gaza': Pro-Palestine UK politicians defeat rivals

Pro-Palestinian independent British politicians, Shockat Adam and Adnan Hussain have emerged victorious in UK general elections after defeating Labour Party candidates in a sign that the party

The businessman-turned-politician campaigned on various local issues as well as on Israel, addressing concerns many had about the Labour party’s initial backing of Israel’s blockade and bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Adam was born in Malawi into a Muslim family of Gujarati descent and grew up in Leicester.

The worst far-right fascist anti-immigration riots in decades engulfed the UK from July 30 to August 5, with mobs attacking mosques, attempting to torch hotels housing migrants and hurling bricks at police officers.

The rioting was triggered by social media users falsely claiming the suspect in the murders of three little girls in a stabbing attack in the Northwest English seaside town of Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The far-right gatherings ostensibly started as anti-immigration marches, organized on social media platforms like X and on WhatsApp and Telegram groups. They quickly turned disorderly and violent.

Protesters set ablaze two Holiday Inn hotels, in the town of Rotherham, northern England, and in Tamworth, in the Midlands, central England, that were believed to be housing asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their claims.

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