Ex-Tory official says he could have experienced anti-Muslim hatred in Coseverative Party if he wore 'Asian clothing'

A former UK Conservative Party member has told Sky News on Sunday that he could have been subject to anti-Muslim hatred from his colleagues if he had worn "Asian clothing".

Mohammed Amin, ex-Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum (CMF), believed he may have been treated differently by Tory peers if he was less of an "atypical Muslim" and displayed his ethnic roots more during his 11-year-long stint in party's "integral" branch.

His comments came amid controversy surrounding Islamophobia in the ruling party as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered an inquiry into claims by former Tory MP Nusrat Ghani that she was sacked in 2020 as a transport minister because her "Muslimness was raised as an issue".

"I personally have not experienced anti-Muslim hatred inside the Conservative Party but... I believe that if I dressed in Asian clothes rather than wearing a suit and tie that I would be treated differently," Amin told Sky News.

Amin, now Chairman of the Islam and Liberty Network and co-Chair for the Muslim Jewish Forum for Greater Manchester called for an inquiry into Islamophobia in the party in June 2018 during his role at the CMF, telling The New Arab the move was "essential".

Amin joined the forum in February 2008 and was made chairman in June 2014 - a role he was expelled from in June 2019 for "casting doubt on Boris Johnson's moral fitness" during an interview, according to ITV News.

Although this did not affect his membership in the party, he resigned from it when Johnson became the party leader on 23 July 2019, due to concerns surrounding the new prime minister's "moral character", which Amin considered "deficient".

UK Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi piled further pressure on the Tory government on Saturday stating "there is no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism" in the Conservative Party, as he urged a probe into Ghani's claims.

Ghani's allegation comes after one of her Conservative colleagues said he would meet police to discuss accusations that government whips - enforcers of parliamentary discipline - attempted to "blackmail" lawmakers suspected of trying to force Johnson from office over lockdown parties, Reuters reported.