LONDON
\nA charity worker appointed by the UK government as an advisor on Islamophobia has quit the role before beginning his work over allegations that he received a \u201ctorrent of abuse.\u201d
\nFiyaz Mughal, founder of the Faith Matters counter-extremism group and the Tell Mama organization, set up to tackle Islamophobia, was set to become the UK\u2019s first lead on tackling anti-Muslim hatred, advising the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
\nBut he resigned on Friday, telling The Times that his name was leaked by government insiders earlier last week, leading him to question how seriously it was committed to the issue of extremism.
\nHe said he has been targeted by both Islamist and far-right extremists, ranging from those who branded him a \u201cheretic\u201d to others who told him he \u201cdidn\u2019t belong\u201d in Britain.
\n\u201cSerious stuff was coming through my inbox,\u201d Mughal told The Times, adding that the episode has caused severe mental stress and put him \u201cat risk.\u201d
\nThe role, he revealed, was only set to be for two days a month, which he said also raises concerns over how seriously the government is taking the issue of anti-Muslim hatred.
\n\u201cI\u2019m angry because the government has been saying for decades, \u2018where are the British Muslims speaking out?\u2019 When we speak out, we are left to our own devices. The impact on our personal and professional lives is enormous,\u201d he added.
\nA government source said Mughal was just \u201ca name under consideration\u201d for the position, and had not been offered the role permanently. The source added that the position would be filled \u201cvery soon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON A charity worker appointed by the UK government as an advisor on Islamophobia has quit the role before beginning his work over allegations that he received a \u201ctorrent of abuse.\u201d Fiyaz Mughal, founder of the Faith Matters counter-extremism group and the Tell Mama organization, set up to tackle Islamophobia, was set to become the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-393076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n