Former British Foreign Minister got into scandal because of a joke about Muslim women

Former Mayor of London and former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in his column for the Daily Telegraph, commented on the recent ban on wearing face-covering clothing in Denmark.

Фото: Depositphotos

In this blog, he was insultingly joked at the address of Muslim women, after which he refused to apologize for his statement, writes with the BBC.

He believes that he has every right to expect that women who come to meet him will communicate with him with an open face, and universities have the right to the same approach if a student comes to study “dressed as a bank robber.”

“If you tell me that the burqa is a tool of oppression, I will agree with you. If you say that it is strange and invasive to expect all women to cover their faces, then I agree wholeheartedly and add that I could not find the corresponding instructions in the Koran,” Johnson wrote in the column.

“I would even go so far as to say that it is stupid for people to decide to walk down the street dressed as a letterbox,” he added.

In addition, Johnson spoke in favor of introducing a dress code in private companies and government departments. However, in his opinion, a legislative ban on burkas in public places, as in Denmark, would be unnecessary and would play into the hands of radicals who talk about a “clash of civilizations” between East and West.

Фото: Depositphotos

Johnson's wits in the article aroused the outrage of Muslim groups, some of his fellow party politicians and the Labor opposition.

Former adviser to Prime Minister Cameron and founder of the NGO Conservative Muslim Forum, Lord Sheikh, suggested that Johnson is using the Muslim issue to satisfy his ambitions to become head of the Tory party.

“It’s a joke, but it’s very, very tasteless,” he said, adding that the former British Foreign Secretary has a “strange sense of humor.”

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Secretary Alistair Burt said Johnson's remarks were "somewhat offensive".

Chairman of the Conservative Party Brandon Lewis demanded johnson apologize muslims.

The former chairwoman of the party and the first Muslim woman in the British parliament, Lady Saida Warsie, supported Lewis and demanded that disciplinary measures be taken against Johnson if she did not apologize.

Johnson's joke she called insulting and intentionally provocative, but very tricky in a political sense.

Lady Warsi said the issue of Islamic dress should be discussed in a serious manner instead of "trying to gain attention and airtime."

"I'm outraged because Muslim women are not an issue that old Etonians can use for political games," she said.

Critics considered Johnson's remarks insulting and provocative, but the politician refused to apologize.

A source close to Johnson said the former foreign secretary was simply expressing his views on a complex issue and criticizing him for it was “simply ridiculous.”

“We must not fall into the trap of not discussing difficult topics. We have to talk about this. If we do not defend liberal values, then we are simply dancing to the tune of reactionaries and extremists,” the source said.

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