Thread by @OzKaterji

Good morning folks. I just want to say that this individual @TheSinanKose was part of a sustained, aggressive & racist campaign to slander me as a terrorist and al-Qaeda supporter for 4 years. He cheered on the Islamophobic hatred I suffered at the hands of his Corbyn supporters.

Even here he can barely muster any condemnation of the virulent Islamophobic abuse I'm subjected to, and turn it around to blame me - the victim - for not being more supportive of Corbynite trolls like himself who were happy to paint me as a religious fundamentalist to smear me.

This is one of Sinan's friends, a middle class white man working in corporate law, using an anonymous account to libel me as a supporter of al-Qaeda, a group that has kidnapped and executed close friends of mine, friends I miss and mourn daily.

Here is the direct instigator of that abuse, using a new account because he has been already banned from Twitter multiple times for harassment and bigotry - again blaming me for being on the receiving end of racist hatred that he himself proudly instigated against me.

Not only are these people not allies, they directly contributed to the atmosphere I face as a Muslim journalist on the internet. Even when I speak out in favour of progressive causes, it is always my Islam that is targeted to dehumanise me.

This racist bullying has been widely tolerated by the shitpost left, just like transphobic abuse is tolerated by the people I was talking about yesterday. I have very few allies even willing to call the racially aggravated harassment I am subjected to for being a Muslim reporter.

It's very clear this man, Peter Start, always knew that I was not any sort of Islamist extremist, yet he repeatedly accused me of being one from various Twitter accounts as a form of racist intimidation & harassment. These people are as guilty as the bigots they claim to condemn.

This has been going on for four years. This account obsessively tweets slanderous and at times racist remarks about me, while he gets likes and retweets from actual recognisable journalists and activists on the British left.

When a Muslim reporter takes a stand for a progressive cause, even at the potential cost of their own livelihood, we have no allies, no support, and no protection. We are reduced to caricatures & stereotypes, because Islamophobia is endemic, normalised & tolerated in the UK.

Another one of Sinan & Peter's allies, an account now suspended, falsely accused me of being a friend of hate preacher Anjem Choudhary because I interviewed him in 2014, in an interview I chose not to publish because it would only have furthered the platform I opposed him having.

This led to nearly a week of sustained abuse, including death threats sent to my personal facebook account, promising that I would suffer a violent end for being an Islamist. That happened because his "ironic" left wing shit post was picked up by hundreds of far right accounts.

Again, I was targeted then, because I had been using my small platform to challenge hateful charlatans like Imam Tawhidi. Every single opportunity I have had as a Muslim reporter has been to oppose extremism & support the rights of those in the firing line.

Every single time I have done that, whether it is from the Right, the Left, or the "Gender Critical" fringes on Twitter - I have been abused for being Muslim. Especially for being an openly proud and Queer Muslim.

It's actually because of this lived, daily reality for me that my skin is now thick enough to deal head on with people that think racist abuse will terrify me off this website or expressing solidarity with people that deserve it. They will never, ever be able to do that.

I am again asking that Peter, Sinan & the rest of the bigots that took pleasure in the racist abuse I was subjected to in their name, in the name of their political cause, to stop tweeting about me. Just leave me alone for once in your goddamn miserable, hateful, lonely lives.

I should have quit journalism long ago because of this, but I fight on now due to sheer stubbornness. If these people defeat me, what hope is there for future generations, especially of Queer Muslims who don't have anywhere near my platform, to ever be part of this industry?

I stay and battle and show no quarter because this is an existential fight for people in my community. No matter how well integrated we are, we will always be a fifth column to these people. I won't accept it and I won't be silent about it. I will continue to name them by name.

For any potential followers and lurkers that plan on turning me on the future, save yourself time. I support Palestinian rights, LGBT rights and the civil liberation of Middle Eastern dictatorships governed by terrorists & tyrants. If that bothers, do us both a favour & block me.