The BBC this morning brought on Raheel Mohammed, director of charity Maslaha, who called Lee Anderson an “ignorant racist man“. He said that “this is about as a systemic form of racism that influences legislation and influences our public institutions, and that’s the conversation that we need to be having“. Mr Mohammed said Islamophobia “trickles down from the government, it comes from rhetoric, it comes from the laws that they pass… it’s what Lee Anderson represents, that’s the conversation we should be having.” The BBC described Maslaha as a “charity that tackles inequalities and discriminations faced by muslim communities“. Hmm…

The BBC chose not to mention the charity’s activities, most recently its “Palestine in Schools” programme. It is currently advertising that it “developed this resource to debunk the myth that the chant ‘From the river to the sea’ is antisemitic” in schools. Its helpful pamphlet explains how pressure can be put on schools and teachers…

Mohammed has also retweeted tweets declaring that young people carry knives because of “violence thrust upon [them] decade after decade by a ruling state and its oppressive systems“. All of which would have been significant context…