Shazia Hobbs is the author of The Gori’s Daughter
Shame!
by Shazia Hobbs
Shame on everyone who has smeared Tommy Robinson — and made us feel too ashamed to listen to his warnings about grooming gangs. Yes, I believe he should be applauded for taking a stand against the grooming gangs when everyone else was silent. In a society where political correctness has gone mental, and we are all scared of being labelled racist or Far Right, for daring to have an opinion on Islam or mass immigration nobody else was speaking up.
The name Tommy Robinson for me has always conjured up images of skinheads, swastikas and Dr Marten boots. The EDL — I was led to believe — were similar to the BNP, and the BNP put the fear of God into me.
I am the child of an interfaith relationship, the daughter of an immigrant. I grew up with racism from both my Pakistani side and my white Scottish side. The racism from the Pakistani side was less frightening than the white, because it was verbal. On the white side it got physical. I remember occasions when I was out with my white mother. I remember being spat on with screams of ‘f***ing paki lover’ at us. At school I fought the boys who dared call me and my siblings ‘smelly pakis.’ At home we had our windows smashed and graffiti painted on the garden walls, saying ‘Niggers Out’ and ‘BNP.’
So you can see why the BNP scared me and why the EDL would scare me, given that I assumed they were just a new incarnation of the BNP. The EDL undoubtedly attracted some unsavoury characters with roots in the BNP, the National Front, Combat 18 and skinhead football casuals, even though Robinson repeatedly made it clear that he didn’t want them in any way associated with the EDL (he even received death threats from neo-Nazis). These EDL “supporters” were scary and frightening people, for those of us with brown skin. Unless you have grown up with racism then you cannot understand the fear of being picked on purely for the colour of your skin. You get used to the looks and you get used to subtle (and not so subtle) racial prejudice. You never get used to the fear, though.
I have been told I am a whistle-blower for writing my debut novel, The Gori’s Daughter, because the book exposes the flaws in the Pakistani community. Many in the community are not happy with my book, but thankfully many more applaud me for having the courage to write about the community honestly.
Some in my community have also said that I am a BNP/EDL dream, which filled me with self-loathing. How could anyone suggest that the BNP would love me when I had grown up being hated by these very people? Such sentiments were strange and horrifying.
This is the reason I gave Tommy Robinson such a wide berth, and why I couldn’t even bring myself to follow him on Twitter — even though he was being retweeted onto my timeline on a daily basis, often by people I felt were my allies. I was too scared to even read his tweets or watch any of the videos that he featured in. I didn’t follow him because I didn’t want to be labelled a white supremacist, bigot, racist or even patronising racist terms such as coconut. This is Twitter peer-pressure at its strongest and its most pathetic.
I started researching him, though, and I started clicking on links to form my own opinion of him. But still I refrained from clicking on that dreaded “Follow” button on his profile. I viewed videos of him from as far back as 2007, in which he raised concerns about the Muslim street-grooming gangs preying on vulnerable British girls.
And it was when I started watching these videos that I began to change my view of Tommy Robinson. Here he was, talking about the rape of vulnerable young girls, and yet nobody was listening to him. On the contrary, all they were doing was calling him “racist” and trying to silence him.
Well, we now know there has been a huge cover-up by politicians, police and the agencies who were responsible for the safety of the young girls. Today many continue to call Tommy Robinson a racist instead of listening to his concerns — and his facts. He was talking about (or trying to, anyway) grooming gangs long before anybody else was. It feels more appropriate that we should be thanking him and acknowledging his bravery and honesty, rather than smearing him.
Maybe if Tommy Robinson was from a middle class background, went to University, wore tweed and voiced his concerns with a posh accent he would be listened to. Katie Hopkins is another who is hated as much as Robinson, if not more, for having similar views, but being middle class and educated insulates her to an extent. She is given her own newspaper column and regularly appears on TV.
It’s the working class, “chav” and hooligan labels that make it so easy to call Robinson a racist, shut down any debate with him and refuse to give him any mainstream airtime. I have watched some videos where he is constantly called a racist but when he challenges his accusers to produce evidence, they are unable to.
We are quick, perhaps even desperate, to forgive terrorists who have turned their back on terror and they are often rewarded with jobs advising the government. They are flown all over the world meeting political leaders and they quickly find a home on the prestigious speaking circuits. It seems you can be forgiven more quickly for being a terrorist than for being a football hooligan.
Anjem Choudary is allowed to vent his hatred for all things Western, on the streets of London, and there is less outrage at that than there is towards Tommy Robinson. I have watched videos of Choudary demanding the death of non-Muslims and British soldiers. I have watched as he has led marches calling for Sharia law. He did all this, for years, without any interruption from the police and without any fear of being arrested. Robinson, on the other hand, was arrested at Luton Airport on his way to give a talk on grooming gangs, long before the public was aware of the phenomenon. It is this double standard that seems unfair. This double standard — where you can say whatever you like against the British, but if you voice concerns about Sharia law or anything to do with Islam, you are shut down for being a racist — has to stop.
After much debate with myself, I finally decided to click the ‘Follow’ button on Twitter and joined the other 120,000+ followers of Tommy Robinson. He has more followers than UKIP, and about the same as the Liberal Democrats. There are a number of his followers who are racist; you only have to read some of the comments his followers leave with regards to Pakistani people. It seems as though some of his followers are united in their hatred towards the Pakistani community because of the actions of some Pakistani-Britons. The same can be said of many conservative Muslims, though, and the way they speak to, and about, non-Muslims online. Aside from their derogatory attitude to non-Muslims, they also speak to liberal Muslims in a sexist and vile manner and accuse them of not being ‘real’ Muslims. Yet there is an expectation that Robinson’s followers (whose behaviour he is not responsible for) have to be perfect and politically correct, and if they aren’t this is Robinson’s fault. The double standards at play over and over.
When Robinson formed the EDL at the age of 27, within six months it had become the biggest street movement Europe had ever seen. If those in power had listened to his concerns, then there would have been no need to form the EDL. Many of the people involved in the EDL were genuinely concerned about the issues affecting their towns and cities. Grooming gangs, forced marriages, FGM and Sharia law were issues concerning many of us, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and as we now know there has been a huge cover-up and silence on these issues. So yes, it is understandable that they would join the EDL to make theses issues public knowledge. There were a number of people who joined the EDL who were racist; there is no doubt about that. Robinson was one young man, not a politician, trying to effect change and doing his best with nothing but his anger and frustration at what he was seeing happen in his hometown of Luton.
The reason Robinson gave for finally turning his back on the EDL was the racist following, which he was ultimately unable to control, but again nobody wants to listen to that because it does not fit with the preconceived ideas they have of him. Robinson’s life has been threatened and he has received five “Osman Warnings” — these are real and immediate threats to his life and his family which warrant the police making him aware of those threats — but sadly, still not serious enough to protect him. The Government should be doing more to protect him. Robinson himself has accepted that he will be killed, that it’s just a matter of time. The consequences if such a thing happens will be immense.
There are so many labels being hurled at him that they don’t really mean anything now. So I no longer care what I am called for following Tommy Robinson and for agreeing with some of what he has to say.
So go ahead: call me a white supremacist, racist, bigot or whatever else. At least try and be original. I’m beyond caring. I’ll just laugh at you and I’ll carry on following whoever the hell I want on Twitter, and I’ll carry on agreeing with whoever the hell I want based on the arguments and the facts they present to me. And I’ll always care more about the rape of young girls (regardless of their skin colour), FGM, forced marriage and Sharia law than any stupid name you will ever call me.
BRAVO young woman!
“The Government should be doing more to protect him. Robinson himself has accepted that he will be killed, that it’s just a matter of time. The consequences if such a thing happens will be immense.”
No, they won’t. I’ve pretty much lost hope of anything much being done to stop Europe and UK sliding into the islamic mire.
In Tommy’s book, Enemy Of The State it is clear that the govt has placed him situations, while in jail for BS, that were clearly meant to get him killed. I was absolutely astounded at how very totalitarian England is.
This young woman hit the nail on the head when she said his working class roots are the issue. To this very day the English elite have total disdain for their working class men and women. The victims of the rape gangs all hailed from working class backgrounds.
There may be a solution to Tommy’s dilemma–though in the long run he may be doomed as he so believes.
Check out Kipling’s poem “the Grave of the Hundred Heads”. Were it know that this would be the result of his murder, said murder just might not occur.
Then again—maybe not.
A bit of publicity regarding the concept just might be in order.
(AND–what uniform caps would be on those heads??)
Thanks for the recommendation. I am going to download it. Prayers for Tommy.
I believe that the vast majority of those victims had been remanded to foster care because of their home situations…and their social workers, PAID to make sure they were safe, did nothing –even though they knew what was going on. Better to let a child suffer the tortures and the forced drug addiction than be called a racist.
The reality of what happened is hard to wrap your head around. It clearly indicates the extent of the decay of English culture. In order to keep from being labeled racist, worse than being a rapist, and keep your job you just stand by and watch an atrocity of epic porportions. To me this indicates a lack of conscience. Have the educated English people become narcissists? There is no defense for their inaction.
I suspect that the answer is “yes”. Here’s an old article (wish I could find a newer study):
http://archive.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/02/27/study_college_students_more_narcissistic/
I’m of the opinion that socialism encourages narcissism and feeds off of it. If people are narcissistic then they’ll favor state support rather than support based on personal relationships. And, if people depend on state support they can afford to be narcissistic as they can ignore commitment to personal relationships.
This may be the core of what’s wrong in Europe with narcissistic individuals more concerned about superficial social approval than taking any meaningful moral stand. Unfortunately I’m not sure the US is that far behind.
Many of the children, Dymphna, were living in state ‘group homes’. One of the problems was (is) that under the new ideology of ‘children’s rights’, the ‘carers’ – even if they wanted to – weren’t allowed to stop the children from leaving the homes and associating with whoever they wanted.
Have you ever read Andrew Vachss?
I wonder what he would make of this whole scandalous situation.
We Experts on giving deep insights in the Islamic Ideology which abuses true humanity for a new ugly “humanity” need the help from some philantrophic billionaires in Europe and from elsewhere.
The fact is that much of Mainstream media and stately hold orgs are commanded through dark chanels either bei Saudi Wahabis or Quatari`s “sponsoring” for the evil or someone else of those guys which are doing Dschihad against the civilised world of which for sure we are among the top preservers.
Islam would be really easy ended when the Project of reconstructing the original founding history of Islam could be carried quickly through … doing this on a professional Level would accelerate this Project.
Giving these results also cost free to the Islamic world would put them on shame on an immense Level ……. Anyone who wishes could then check how many and how deep are those lies which “Keep Islam at present still running”
On the contrary HM “Government” want us to become an Islamic country…. and will do anything and everything to ensure it does even selling important key buildings in Whitehall itself to rich Gulf states and placed under sharia. From these it will spread. This is part of a well coordinated policy…..
“selling important key buildings in Whitehall…”
One interpretation is that the British government, like almost all the governments of the West, has painted itself into a corner. It has committed itself to social welfare expenditures far beyond its revenue, and is funding its rickety financial structure through Saudi financing.
Any refusal of Saudi financial commerce, and the Saudis can immediately threaten to put the financial instruments of Britain (and the US), that are part of their holdings, on the open market, immediately bringing down the values of a vast number of investment funds, including most retirement funds.
Also, the value of any future government issues would be low, bringing about hyperinflation if the government couldn’t stop spending.
So, it seems to me, any government not willing to live within its means immediately loses its independence, whether or not the poobahs actually intend to replace Western culture with Islam.
Just a quick word on the British National Party (BNP). If any member was involved in painting BNP ANYWHERE he or she would be instantly dismissed. The BNP is a legally constituted political party and is – and has been – fighting to overcome a hostile press and extreme lefties for many years. Any members from years back who were anti Semitic or Racist in any way have been kicked out. The BNP is for God, Queen and Country – just like Britain First and LibertyGB. Differences are there certainly but all three parties are against the EUSSR , mass immigration and oppose the Islamization of Britain. Nigel Farage of UKIP is a fine speaker but I really don’t think he quite gets immigration or muslims.
By the way, if you have not read it already, I highly recommend Tommy’s book “Enemy of the State” – available from Amazon.
I notice that Amazon still offers only the Kindle version:
Tommy Robinson Enemy of the State
By the way, if anyone buys items on Amazon after clicking onto their site via a link from GoV, we get a small commision. My favorite puzzle is whoever it was that clicked on from our webpage and then went on to buy school uniforms (we don’t get any personal information about buyers, just a line item on what was purchased. And that ‘line item’ remains my favorite…a reminder that life goes on. It cheered me.)
My daughter lives in London so I had her buy me Tommy’s book on amazon.uk fro my birthday.
My highly intelligent twenty-five year old Canadian niece and God-daughter works for Sotheby’s in London. she takes the Tube daily. While Skyping with her this Christmas passed I, as casually as possible, asked her how she found using the Tube. We have not discussed islam.
Her response “You can smell ethnic tension” was telling. I didn’t take it further other than asking her to keep her eyes open. Her response to that was “I’ve put in a request for a transfer to New York”. The transfer is imminent and my concern reduced.
Well said that woman. She challenges the leftist concept of name calling and labelling as their deterrent which they think will prevent the rest of us from voicing opinions that contradict the marxist narrative. If everyone just ignores these insults and treats them with the contempt they deserve, what else can the leftists do?
I suppose there is always Unite Against Fascism and the antifas to get their message across.
It’s always nice to see a little integrity, honesty and yes, courage coming from a religion of peace enthusiast (one assumes that the author of the article is Muslim, given that her father presumably was).
I thought her comparison between the general societal treatment of Tommy Robinson versus that of Katie Hopkins was interesting, and that she may have had a valid point re: the influence of class in their different situations. It seems to me that the lingering influence of class structure is much stronger in Britain than in the US or even Canada. And had Mr. Robinson been middle class, perhaps he would have received a little less of a rough ride … though, perhaps not.
“Lingering”?? Not hardly – the pernicious effect of class suppression in England is a cancer, ruining many a bright, curious child’s life as his or her initiative was snuffed out.
Even Tommy’s book is full of self- effacement for his background. On his home turf, among his family and friends, he can be his real self but to put his face in public and express opinions – you can see the deleterious effect of the British class stamp on what would otherwise be a gracious, friendly and generous human being.
“Shame” is ground into those children from a very young age. Ireland is the same – or was. My mother said that landing on American shores was like lifting a huge weight of shame from her shoulders – shame at her accent, her mannerisms, her very being. Growing up, she wasn’t allowed to have friends if they didn’t have a “good address” or if their fathers didn’t have a “proper” kind of employment (no one who worked with his hands)…
As an Irishman “deported” to the “Foreign Shores” of North America, I attest Dymphna’s assertions. Awrite April fools is over and I werent deported but I was sort of hauled.
The elites may like to think that ‘shame’ was ground into working class children from a young age, but this is not correct.
Pride would be more like it. Anything I’ve achieved in life, I’ve done it myself, same as everyone else I know. We’re beholden to no one.
So, pride.
And contempt – utter, snarling contempt for the political class.
I’ll go out on a limb and speculate that Shazia Hobbs is not a practicing Muslim anymore. I find it difficult to imagine that anyone exhibiting intelligence, critical thinking, and empathy would remain a Muslim and say the execrable daily prayers each day.
In my opinion, the rebel Muslims who ostensibly remain Muslim while publicly criticizing parts of Islam, are attention-seeking narcissists, such as Irshad Manji, who focuses much more on herself nowadays than on any Islamic reforms.
such an important voice. the difficulties of racial harmony, integration if people choose it and respectful good-neighbouriness with other who don’t, is fraught with its own set of problems, but for the most part these are brittle and they are going to shatter easily. Being South African I understand these issues acutely. At the same time (my compatriots don’t like to hear this), I live in actual Africa. I don’t know where the line between respecting this and accepting it is drawn, but it does give me an appreciation for the fact that Europeans in their very own countries are going to lament the presence of ANYONE settling in who is not actually of them. This is normal and rather than the doom and gloom and pointing fingers, I am awed by people’s tolerance and acceptance, as a general observation. The problem going forward is about how people working through these issues, because of their own disturbed and mixed roots, are manipulated by Islam, not by a bunch of “neo-Nazi” thugs. I’m not interested in people who call me alternately a right-wing bigot and “kaffir lover”, as the wind blows. This writer didn’t describe her relation to Islam and here she is remiss. We do need to know. Is one of her parents a lapsed Muslim? In the mix working through this, we need to keep a clear focus on the pernicious ideology that is the real danger to all of us. It’s the same beef I had with Pegida flying the Pakistani flag at their march recently. It is an Islamic flag and it is muddying the waters. I understand why they did it and allowed it, but it can’t just be left at that. Was there pre-Islamic symbolism in “Pakistan”? What is it? Why weren’t we introduced to it intelligently by the former Muslim Pakistani?
In fact, it’s such a funny thing and maybe I’m wrong. In South Africa, I know that many of the family names as the same names here are found among the Pennsylvania Dutch. The same Amish mentally reached a very different conclusion as in South Africa, but they came from the same roots. I have, on numerous occasions, exclaimed this with glee to Afrikaaners. I tell them that because the Americans beat the Brits, they allowed their cousins to be themselves, and lo … what a unique and brilliant flower they brought forth. I get really excited when I tell them this because it is so fascinating but I’m met with dull no comprendo/not interested? … serious blanks. The Afrikaners regard themselves at popped out of the top of Table Mountain. Period. I say noooooo, you need to understand the Catholic persecutions in Europe to understand yourself. blaaaannnnnkkk. In fact, to a much lesser extent do Americans exhibit this pathological behavior. Growing up there, I know that one of fundamentals of life is, so, where is your family from? I may be forgetting the exact wording they use because it’s been a long time… but the answer goes: I’m Irish, Romanian and Chinese. I’m German and Italian. I’m native American and Hungarian and Polish and a little bit of French. Identity is important. So here I have presented two contrasting scenarios. Afrikaners who believe themselves to be indigenous to Africa and totally disinterested in both their European roots and their American cousins (who are so unique and worthy of interest!!!). Pakistani Brits need to present to us their version of who they, who they are where they have come from, are that convinces us of their complete and total disavowal of Islam.
This young woman accuses various individuals and groups of ‘racism’ – but nowhere does she say what she understands by this much over-used term. What is racism? Does it have an objective meaning?
Good luck young lady, cause when it gets ugly, which seems more likely every day, you may have to choose sides, and it may be the lesser of two evils.
Good luck to you. I too thought TR was a racist for many years but wish we had listened to him I too have read his book and it is excellent. He’s been treated worse than the bloody extremists who were allowed to preach their vile rubbish. This country is pathetic now, all of these preachers need sending to a country they like seeing as they hate ours.,but I forget we pay these slimebags money to stay here and plan to kill us I wish there was a lot more like TR and I hope he stays safe and his family and I wish our government would grow balls and get rid of these parasites. good luck to you xxxx