Sun’s racist lie about Muslim support for terror

Sun whips up racism with lie about Muslim support for terror

Lying Tory ‘newspaper’ the Sun ran a front page on 23 November condemning “One in five Brit Muslims’ sympathy for jihadis”. This was a naked attempt to whip up racism after the recent atrocities in Paris.

The unbelievable statistic was based on a small Survation poll – which made no mention of jihad. The poll actually asked whether respondents had “sympathy with young Muslims who leave the UK to join fighters in Syria”.

Isis

It did not say whether this meant fighting with groups like Isis or against them. And ‘sympathy’ for the plight of disenfranchised youth is hardly equivalent to approval for terrorism.

An earlier poll found 14% of the general population has “some” sympathy for young Muslims going to fight in Syria. In Survation’s Muslim survey, 5% expressed “a lot” and 14.5% “some” sympathy – 19.5% (nearly one in five) total. When you take into account normal variations between sample groups, these figures are almost the same.

But Rupert Murdoch’s flagship rag doesn’t let mere facts get in the way of its political agenda. Defend the rich, divert the blame, divide the workers.

The Socialist Party has long described the Sun’s method of journalism as two-pronged: make it simple – and make it up.


#1in5Muslims

Muslim Twitter users overwhelmed the site with ridicule for the Sun’s attack.

@muslamichoe

#1in5Muslims get through airport security without getting randomly selected for a search

@muslamichoe

#1in5Muslims refrain from using phrases such as “what a bombshell!” or “that’s the bomb!”

@Soul_Dignified

#1in5Muslims get asked if they shower with their hijab on

@shadesofnadia

#1in5Muslims wonders what bacon tastes like

@LiberatedSoul_

#1in5Muslims think Ross and Rachel were on a break