Ukip MEP's 'death cult' remarks spark new Islamophobia row

Ukip is facing renewed criticism over its attitudes towards Islam after it emerged that one of its senior MEPs said non-Muslims should have a “perfectly rational fear” of the faith, which he described as a “death cult” steeped in violence.

The Liberal Democrats and Greens described the comments, written in a blogpost by Ukip’s Brexit spokesman, Gerard Batten, as “hateful” and “the gutter of British politics”.

Asked twice about the issue at the launch of Ukip’s election campaign on Friday, the party’s leader, Paul Nuttall, declined to say whether he agreed with Batten’s views.

Ukip’s stance towards Islam has been in focus since Monday, when the party announced what it terms an “integration agenda”, including a ban on full-face veils and compulsory medical checks for girls seen as at risk of female genital mutilation.

Later in the week the party adopted as a candidate an activist from the anti-Islam Pegida movement, who has praised the far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders and described Islam as “evil”.

Speaking at Friday’s campaign launch, Nuttall said the candidacy of Anne Marie Waters would be considered by Ukip’s national executive committee. But he did not answer questions about the views of Batten, an MEP since 2004.

In the post on his personal blog written after last month’s terrorist attack in Westminster, Batten said Islam should be referred to as “Mohammedanism – the cult of Mohammed – because that is what it is”.

He continued: “It is a death cult, born and steeped in 1,400 years of violence and bloodshed, that propagates itself by intimidation, violence and conquest.”

Batten wrote: “The terrorists are the vanguard of Mohammedanism. They set out to cow the non-Mohammedan population, so that the ‘moderate Muslims’ can get on establishing sharia courts, forcing halal food in school and works canteens, and making the authorities look the other way regarding criminal activities for fear of being called racist and Islamophobic.”

Saying that a phobia was a fear without a rational base, Batten said: “A normal non-Mohammedan should have a perfectly rational fear of ‘Islam’.”

The Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said: “[Nuttall] must stop turning a blind eye to this blatant Islamophobic language and make clear it will not be tolerated.

“Ukip’s lurch towards Islamophobia is a desperate attempt to stay relevant after Theresa May has taken over their hard Brexit agenda. This kind of hateful language has no place in a UK political party.”

Caroline Lucas, the Greens’ co-leader, said: “Ukip’s descent into the gutter of British politics is continuing. Their leadership and spokespeople have lurched even further to the right as the Tories do their Brexit work for them.

“The deep prejudice within this hollowed out party is being exposed – and the Green party will continue to challenge this bigotry every time it rears its ugly head.”

Asked about Batten’s comments, Nuttall instead defended his party’s Islam-focused policies, saying these were “somehow perceived as being anti-Muslim”.

He continued: “Actually, it’s all about equality. It’s all about breaking down barriers. It’s all about integrating people into society.”

The start of the event was interrupted by protesters, who shouted that Ukip was racist. Asked later whether this was the case, Nuttall said: “No, they’re not right. It’s disappointing that certain people in politics don’t want to debate. What they want to do is shout people down.”

Batten, who has previously said he has a policy of not talking to the Guardian, was contacted for comment.