Thread by @ZamzamMCR

I came to Manchester for #CPC19. I had every intention of proudly representing millions of students across our country. However, as President of @nusuk and a Muslim woman I cannot in good conscience participate in a Conference that openly denies the existence of Islamophobia.

Yesterday, I was horrified to see reports of what was sickening Islamophobia arising from an official Tory Party fringe entitled ‘Challenging Islamophobia’. Here, panelists denied the existence of anti-Muslim bigotry and toasted to their being labelled ‘Islamophobe of the Year’.

A Muslim Tory Party member was forced to ask whether the panel was setup to ‘promote Islamophobia rather than challenge it’. With anti-Muslim hate crimes soaring, for such dangerous rhetoric to be spread at the Conference of our governing Party is abhorrent; it must be condemned.

You can't deny my own lived experiences, and the racism faced by Muslims from the far-right, parts of our media and in communities across our country daily. You can't hide from this deep and horrific problem. For this reason I have withdrawn from all engagements at #CPC19.