“… it isn’t irrational to fear the modern world’s most violent religious ideology…”

The House of Lords was shaken by an alarmingly Islamophobic speech from Baron Pearson of Rannoch.

The atmosphere in Parliament on 25th July grew tense as he launched into a tirade, casting aspersions on the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Quran, and Islam itself. His words were laced with harmful stereotypes, designed to paint British Muslims in a sinister light.

During his speech in parliament on 25th July, Baron Pearson said: “… if we say, just try, just to talk about Islam or Islamism we are immediately accused of Islamophobia – a phobia is an irrational fear of something but it isn’t irrational to fear the modern world’s most violent religious ideology.”

He also said: “I understand there is a popular conception that the word Islam means peace, whereas in fact it means submission to the will of Allah – or the Muslim God. Devout Muslims should obey the Quran and emulate the life of Muhammad.

“This is unfortunate, because the Quran contains over a 100 verses which encourage Muslims to kill or subdue non-Muslims, and in 627 [AD], Muhammad ordered the death of 600 Jews in one afternoon.”

He added: “The Islamists view of this my Lords is that peace will be achieved when our planet is ruled by Islam.

“My Lords, Islam’s Sharia law is already running de facto in the United Kingdom via some 80 Muslim arbitration tribunals. These discriminate harshly against Muslim wives whose husbands have only to say I divorce you three times to leave them divorced and often destitute.

“The Sharia allows Muslim men to have four wives at a time most of whom are having at least two children. So the Muslim population is going up ten times faster than our national average on past trends.

“Birmingham and nine other English local authorities will be majority Muslim by 2031. The radicals’ plan is to wait until they can take us over through the power of the womb…”

Baron Pearson, among other suggestions, recommended the monitoring of mosques and madrasas, and to ban the burka in public.”

Muslim Engagement & Development (MEND) are now calling for members of the public to make a complaint against Baron Pearson under the House of Lords Code of Conduct for harassment and inciting hatred towards Muslims. Visit mend.org.uk for more information where a full guide is provided on how to fill out the form and make a complaint, or use the guideline below.

ACT NOW by following this step-by-step guide (courtesy of MEND)

Step 1: Download the House of Lords Code of Conduct complaint form https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/lords-commissioner-for-standards/complaint-to-commissioner-form.pdf

Step 2: Under the section ‘Your details’ – enter your personal details.

Step 3: In the section ‘Member or member’s staff concerned’ – enter ‘Lord Malcolm Pearson of Rannoch.

Step 4: ‘Substance of complaint’ – enter the following:

‘On 25 July 2024, Baron Pearson gave a highly disturbing Islamophobic speech to the House of Lords, making inflammatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the Quran and Islam, and resorting to the use of Islamophobic tropes to demonise British Muslims. Pearson went on to repeat ideas of population replacement dominant in far-right circles, stating that “Birmingham and nine other local authorities will be Muslim majority by 2031”, which he claimed is part of the “radicals’ plan” to “take us over through the power of the womb and the ballot box”, suggesting an imminent “Muslim threat”. With an alarming rise in Islamophobic hate crimes since 7 October 2023 and attacks against Muslims as far-right riots have been breaking out across the country, Baron Pearson’s speech is highly distressing to Muslims as it stokes further divisions and gives fuel to the far-right and anti-Muslim sentiment which is currently at a worrying high. Baron Pearson needs to be held accountable for his inflammatory speech that is not only in breach of the House of Lord’s Code of Conduct but incites hate against Muslims.’

Step 5: ‘Aspects of the Code engaged’ – enter the following:

‘Baron Pearson’s speech is in breach of the Behaviour Code of the House of Lords Code of Conduct. Paragraph 19 of the Code states that behaviour that amounts to bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct constitutes a breach of the Code. This includes unacceptable or inappropriate language or racial or other stereotypes which creates a humiliating, hostile and offensive environment for Muslims, which constitutes harassment both under the House of Lords Code of Conduct and Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. Baron Pearson’s conduct falls within the Commissioner’s remit as stated in Paragraph 137 of the Guide to the Code as his speech was conducted “in the course of parliamentary activities or duties”. In his use of Islamophobic tropes and conspiracy theories, this is clearly a form of hate speech and should not be considered a matter of freedom of speech in accordance with Paragraph 30(a) of the Code.’

Step 6: ‘Any other supporting details or evidence’ – enter the following: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/694ab7c3-f610-4a03-93a0-1c7d74ccd3b1

Step 7: Save the document to your device. Click ‘Click here to email your completed form’ at the bottom of the form. Attach the document to your email and click send.