Is UKIP embracing conspiratorial anti-Muslim prejudice on the doorstep?

UKIP literature bearing the troubling marks of anti-Muslim ‘counter-jihad’ (CJ) ideology has been pushed through doors in Medway, Kent, as the country is still raw and grieving in the wake of the Manchester attack.

“The Informed Choice” newspaper, promoted by UKIP’s candidate for Rochester and Strood, David Allen, contains an article “The Burka in Perspective” arguing in support of UKIP’s policy to ban full-face veils worn by a small minority of Muslim women, which the paper describes as “demonstrable religious uniform”.

Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with opposing jihadism or even criticising Islam, counter-jihadist ideology promotes the belief that Western civilisation is under attack from the supposedly ‘supremacist’ religion of Islam.

Counter-jihad ideology also promotes the misguided belief that there is little difference between violent jihadists and ordinary Muslims who live their lives quite peaceably.

While the article does make the statement that “not all Muslims buy into the fundamental dogma”, it also states: “I have asked the question many times, ‘what differentiates a peaceful Muslim from a jihadi one’ and not yet received a comprehensive answer though there clearly is a difference.”

A Track Record

It is not as suprising as it may seem that that Rochester and Strood UKIP is spreading such literature, given Allen’s history of blurring the lines between moderate Muslims and those pursuing the toxic ideology of violent jihad.

In November 2015 Allen penned a blog for the UKIPDaily.com blog, called “Islam, a religion in a time warp?” in which he wrote:

Allen also states that “the unalterable doctrine mandates all Muslims to use whatever means necessary to achieve world domination” and goes on to claim that unless Islam is “modified… then a greater conflict awaits and Muslims everywhere may not find it so easy to belong to a political ideology that hates everyone else yet at the same time proclaims peaceful intentions for themselves.”

A cursory glance at Allen’s social media reveals a deluge of anti-Muslim posts. For example, he shared a video “This is how you silence a Muslim”, and a video advertising the counter-jihadist text The People Vs Muhammad  by JK Sheindlin.

Another video shared by Allen shows a march by the British-based Islamist organisation Al-Muhajiroun, which has extensive terrorist links. The caption to the video reads:

“Muslims marching through London chant they will butcher Jewish people, destroy America, take over the United Kingdom, defeat so-called crusaders, kill Christians, and all the while waving ISIS flags. What more proof do people need that this is an invasion, not a refugee crisis?”

Tensions are still high in the wake of the abhorrent massacre inflicted by terrorists in Manchester on Monday. However, any promulgation of dubious counter-jihad ideas, which seeks to portray a small but violent minority as representative of a religion, cannot be the answer and must be opposed at all turns.