Mohammed Samaana

So, Boris Johnson is the UK’s new Prime Minister. We also learnt this week that Boris has Muslim Turkish heritage: his great grandfather was a Turk called Ali Kemal. Like Boris, he was a politician and a journalist but that’s as far as the similarities go. Ali Kemal’s writing and politics were against the then Turkish ethno-nationalists, which led to his assassination. Boris, in contrast, is an iconic figure of the British hard right. This is highly unlikely to seal his fate but there is a possibility that his views and politics will shorten his career as a PM and lead to an early general election.

Concealing his real family name is consistent with Boris deceiving nature. There is no better example of that when he lied and misled the public to believe that if they voted to leave the EU, then they would be able to allocate £350m they give to the EU weekly to fund the health service instead. However, when the EU’s spending in the UK is taken into consideration, the UK’s payment is actually less that half that figure, about £160m. 

Of course, Boris’ £350m lie as well as Nigel Farage’s deceiving poster of desperate Syrian refugees were crucial to persuade the public to vote for Brexit, with all the chaos and uncertainty that it has caused so far.

Mr Johnson’s Muslim heritage also did not stop him from being an Islamophobe. In an article for the Daily Telegraph ridiculing the tiny minority of Muslim women who wear the nikab, he wrote: “It was absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.” Perhaps allowing such insult to Muslims to be published gives an idea about how the British mass media is relaxed about giving a space to racist views under the pretext of free speech. Despite the sexist nature of the quotation, many so-called feminists stayed silent when a white western man patronised Muslim women on how to dress.

Looking at Boris Johnson’s career as an editor of right-wing magazine The Spectator shows that he had no respect to black people, either. In 2008, he allowed the publication of an article which said: “Orientals … have larger brains and higher IQ scores. Blacks are at the other pole.” 

It is beyond belief that he is the leader of a modern multicultural society. It is also shocking that Conservative MPs and members of his party from ethnic minorities will continue to accept him as their chief.

When it comes to human rights and support for dictators abroad, he said about the Syrian dictator Assad: “Hooray, I say. Bravo – and keep going.”

Boris is no good for the ordinary British people, either. When the BBC decided to cut free TV licences for pensioners, Boris started his campaign by announcing he would reduce tax for the rich. Many people might question this, as it was not in the party manifesto when the Tories won the election. The good news is that Boris was voted only by the Conservative Party members, not the public. 

Furthermore, opposition to his policies already started to emerge from his own party after the resignation of cabinet members including chancellor Philip Hammond. Their main opposition to Boris, however, is centred around blocking a no-deal Brexit.

Besides causing economic hardship for a lot of people, leaving the EU without a deal is predicted to impose a threat to the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process. This is why resisting Boris is badly needed or there will be more troubles ahead.

Mohammed Samaana is a freelance writer based in Belfast.