Sky News
Islamophobia May Force Me to Flee UK, Says Humza Yousaf
By John Boothman
In the wake of far-right riots in England and Northern Ireland, Yousaf has previously called on Sir Keir Starmer to deploy the army to protect Muslim communities against “pogroms”.
He said the last week had felt “absolutely horrendous” and had caused him to reconsider his prospects.
“I have for some time really worried about the rise of Islamophobia,” said Yousaf, and added that he felt his “very sense of belonging” had been questioned.
“Look, I’m about as Scottish as they come. Born in Scotland, raised in Scotland, educated in Scotland. Just welcomed my third child here in Scotland. Was a leader of the Scottish government for just over a year. Leader of the Scottish National Party.
“The rise of the far right, driven by Islamophobia in Europe, UK and the West. And we are now seeing the culmination of, not years, actually, decades of anti-migrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric being normalised in the political discourse now playing out in the most horrendous, violent way possible. And that genuinely makes me question whether or not my family has an existence here in the UK or not.”
He went further by insisting he did not know whether the future for him and his family “is going to be here in Scotland or the United Kingdom or indeed in Europe and the West”.
When asked where he would go, Yousaf replied: “Exactly. I used to laugh when I was younger, I used to laugh at my dad because he’d also created these Pakistani identity cards and Pakistani passports.
“He said, ‘You just never know, son. One day we might need to leave this country.’ We would laugh at my dad and say, ‘What a ridiculous suggestion.’ Now I’m thinking: ‘Well actually, maybe it wasn’t such a ridiculous suggestion.’
“I’ve no idea where … By the way, I don’t want to go. Let me just make that abundantly clear. Scotland is the country I love. The United Kingdom, over the decades, has a complicated history around race, a lot of countries do. But actually has a pretty positive story to tell on multiculturalism.”
Three weeks ago the family welcomed the arrival of a baby girl. Nadia El-Nakla gave birth to Liyana Jenin Yousaf.
Yousaf said that he had received “hundreds of messages, hundreds of messages from the Muslim community saying the exact same thing”.
He praised his successor as first minister, John Swinney, for being proactive in visiting the Edinburgh Central Mosque and showing solidarity with the Muslim community. – The Times
