British Muslims worried about Musk’s growing influence

In an article published today in the Telegraph, the British daily reveals the growing concern of British Muslims over the influence of Elon Musk. The Telegraph points out that Zara Mohammed, outgoing general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB – Muslim Council of Great Britain, the main representative organization of British Muslims), warns of the rise of Islamophobia in the United Kingdom, particularly amplified by social networks.

According to comments collected by the conservative newspaper, the first woman to lead the MCB is worried about several converging phenomena. She points in particular to the “normalization” of far-right figures like Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage, the proliferation of anti-immigrant and anti-refugee speeches, as well as the billionaire’s recent interventions on British politics. “Many Muslims are deserting social networks in the face of ambient hostility and deliberate conflations between Islam, immigration and crime,” she confides to the Telegraph.

The British daily also reports that these fears are exacerbated by Musk’s proximity to Donald Trump, who should entrust him with a key role in his future American administration, suggesting a possible amplification of this rhetoric. In its columns, the Telegraph specifies that the British authorities, asked to react, simply reaffirmed their opposition to any form of racial or religious hatred, promising new measures “soon”.

The newspaper notes that this situation is part of an already tense climate, marked in particular by the riots last summer following the incidents in Southport. The Telegraph also highlights growing tensions between the MCB and the British government. Relations with the organization were first severed in 2009 under the Labor government, following controversial statements by a senior MCB official regarding Hamas. Although reinstated the following year, successive Conservative and Labor administrations have since maintained their distance from the organization.