Nigel Farage has been condemned by Muslim leaders after calling for a ban on public prayer by Muslims in the UK. The Reform UK leader made the comments during the launch of his party's manifesto for the Scottish parliament elections, describing a recent event in London's Trafalgar Square as 'a wake up call and a warning to everybody'.
The event, organised by the Ramadan Tent Project and attended by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saw hundreds of Muslims and people of other faiths pray together ahead of Eid. Farage claimed it was 'an open, deliberate, wilful attempt, not at the private observance of a different religion, but the attempt to overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life'.
Former First Minister Humza Yousaf accused Farage of bigotry, noting he had no issue with Christian prayer or other religious celebrations in the same location. Shaista Gohir, a crossbench peer, said the calls reflected 'a deep-seated hatred toward Muslims', while Akeela Ahmed of the British Muslim Trust warned that British Muslims 'must not become a political football'.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch backed shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy, who claimed Islamic prayers in public were intimidating and unBritish. Labour accused the Conservatives of embracing 'gutter' politics. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar described Farage's remarks as 'toxic, poisonous politics'.
