LONDON – After her spectacular fall from what should have been a General Election strengthening her position, Prime Minister May met Friday with the Queen before announcing a not quite ‘Strong’ nor ‘Stable’ Conservative party, in a potential coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party of Ireland, pushing the Conservative party even further to the right to deliver an agenda which significant parts of the population simply do not want.

Perhaps the most poignant indicator of unease across the nation has been the transition of Kensington, one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, having to do repeated recounts as it appears that the Labour party may have taken the seat, for the first time in its history. That yet another recount has to take place (6pm tonight) shows increasing disheartenment with Prime Minister May’s aggressive #Brexit stance.

Putting aside calls from some British Muslims such as Sulthana B. who have asked for example, “Wait, what. Who the heck are the DUP?” We also have statements from the DUP themselves, that refer to the “talks of a deal are premature.” In a desperate rush to seek validation, Prime Minister May has aligned herself.

The balance of power in Westminster is now held in the hands of the DUP, where 10 MPs, whose leader, Arlene Foster said, “The DUP will strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and it’s people…. The United Kingdom, indeed our very way of life are under threat from extremists… We will enter discussion with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation, at this time of great challenge.”

In her speech announcing a deal with the DUP, Theresa May said that she would be, “Cracking down on the ideology of Islamist extremism and all those who support it and giving the police and the authorities the powers they need to keep our country safe.”

Her statement is in stark contrast to Max Hill, QC, the independent reviewer of terrorist legislation who said, ‘We need more resources – not laws – to deal with the terrorism threat.’ Indeed it is the cutting of police resources by 20,000 over the years Theresa May worked as our Home Secretary and during her time as Prime Minister that have made managing the threat of terrorism more difficult.

Extreme Right

Speaking of the DUP, Cambridge based Islamic Scholar Michael Mumisa said: “The DUP are an extreme far-right, xenophobic, homophobic, misogynist, racist party. They are Tories’ natural bedfellows.  That marriage won’t last.”

“Give it a few months. EU negotiators, who now know that she is damaged, will be determined to make her life miserable. The next few months are going to be interesting. And After all the talk about Jeremy Corbyn as a “terrorist sympathizer”, will the media be challenging Theresa May for her decision to form a government with a former terrorist organization, the DUP?” he added.

British Muslim commentator Sarah Joseph OBE quoted from an article: “This is worrying: “for the Tories… going into coalition with a party founded by former Northern Irish terrorists would be a deep irony.””

Sharing her upset with the potential coalition, Rahima Begum, a British Muslim human rights activist and co-founder of Restless Beings, said, “The DUP has said it is happy to form the coalition. I’m sorry, but no one gives a sh*t about right wing fascist DUP, so this is just their little second to being acknowledged. As for Theresa, she should do the right thing and resign and hand it over to JC.”

The far-right leaning of our current Conservative party which seems to have absorbed the worst attributes of UKIP and so push for an ‘extreme Brexit’ align with the disturbing pattern of racism shown by the DUP. Last year, for example, when a member of public shouted out to DUP MP Sammy Wilson, ‘Get the ethnics out,’ he replied, ‘You are absolutely right.’ The DUP have also previously appointed a climate change denier as environment minister in Northern Ireland.

As British Muslims see a five fold rise in hate crime following the Manchester and London attacks, for our government to form a coalition with perhaps the most extreme political party in the United Kingdom, the DUP, it is an unwelcome sign of the continued direction Prime Minister May is taking us in, blaming Muslims for terrorism, despite Muslims actually reporting the Manchester and London attackers to the authorities with little being done about it. And as many political commentators have observed, she is holding onto power, any way possible.

Saying what most of us feel, Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats said, “Theresa May is in complete denial about what has happened in this election. The people have spoken and she must now listen.”

Leading up to the election, British Muslim Onjali R. made a prayer, “God bless my Beautiful Britain. May it choose a party and a leader that gives a tuppence for the vulnerable, the poor, the sick and the abused…” It seems we are in need of this prayer being answered more now than ever before.