The recent comments by UKIP MEP David Coburn against Scottish Minister Humza Yousaf, who is alleged to have said, “Humza Yousaf or as I call him, Abu Hamza,” are a flagrant slur on the reputation of Mr Yousaf who is the Scottish Minister for Europe and International Development and an SNP elected member for Glasgow. Elected in 2011.He has been a leading light in the SNP movement.
Mr Yousaf has responded to BBC Scotland by saying that he finds the comment “Islamophobic” and some of the “worst racial slurs” that had been made against him.
The comments made by Mr Coburn were made over the phone to a Daily Mail reporter on a theme related to BBC Scotland’s Big Immigration Debate aired earlier in the week. This has been followed by a further comment from UKIP’s Scottish chairman, Arthur Misty Thackeray, who said that the comparison was a “slip of the tongue.”
Writing to the leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, Minister Yousaf stated:
“David Coburn is alleged to have said: “Humza Yousaf, or as I call him, Abu Hamza, didn’t seem to turn up.”
“You do not need me to tell you that this Islamophobic comment is utterly outrageous and unacceptable. None of us would tolerate this being shouted to a Muslim on the street by a member of the public. The fact that this has come from an elected member of the European Parliament is beyond the pale and completely unacceptable.”
We within TELL MAMA are clear that the alleged comments made by the UKIP MEP are anti-Muslim in nature and deeply prejudicial. Imagine if he said that about another community – would this be acceptable? The answer is clearly no. We expect Mr Farage to act quickly and decisively.