UK Muslim MP Zarah Sultana receives racist hate mail amid bereavement

British Muslim MP Zarah Sultana has reported receiving racist hate mail telling her to "go back to [her] country", in a tweet she posted on Thursday.

Sultana said she found the email on her return from bereavement leave following her grandmother's death.

"Go back to your country, you are in my country not yours, you do not belong here. Britain First [is] rising, we will soon get [our] heritage back and tough if you don’t like it," read the email, which  made reference to the far-right Britain First party.

Britain First registered as a political party last September after its application was approved by the Electoral Commission.

The far-right group's leader, Paul Golding, was sentenced to jail for 18 weeks after conducting a campaign of hate against a group of British Muslims in 2018. He was also was found guilty of a terror offence in May last year after refusing to give police access to his electronic devices on his return from a political trip to Russia, according to the Press Association.

Having spent a couple of days away on bereavement leave, I came back to my emails today. This is what I found. Muslim women in politics shouldn't have to tolerate this. pic.twitter.com/KFQ0zVVkER

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) November 11, 2021

Sultana's tweet on Thursday prompted messages of solidarity on the social media platform, including her fellow Labour MPs Louise Haigh and Nadia Whittome.

Disgusting. Sending you love and solidarity Zarah. Keep going ❤️

— Nadia Whittome MP (@NadiaWhittomeMP) November 11, 2021

Sultana has previously spoken out on her experiences of Islamophobia, stating at a UK parliamentary debate last September that “to be a Muslim woman... and to be left-wing is to be subjected to this barge of racism and hate”.

In a separate incident this week, Oldham council's first female Muslim leader, Arooj Shah, revealed she has received regular death threats since taking up her role. 

At an Oldham council meeting on Wednesday, the Labour councillor called for less hatred and personal abuse, "most of which is fuelled by lies and misinformation... by the colour of my skin, by my religion and by the fact I am a woman", The Oldham Times reported.

Shah was also targeted earlier this year when her car was firebombed outside her home in July.