CAIRO – A leading British Muslim group has welcomed the Prime Minister’s apology to Imam Sulaiman Ghani, a south London imam who was falsely accused by the Prime Minister of supporting Daesh, demanding an urgent review of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s long overdue apology to Imam Sulaiman Ghani, a London imam who has thus far been unable to challenge claims made in Parliament that he supports Daesh or terrorism. As a result of these smears, we understand that Imam Ghani has been subject to abuse and fears for his safety and that of his family,” Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement published on the group website.

“I call on both the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary to make that apology in Parliament as well. Imam Ghani became the innocent casualty of a wider Islamophobic attack on the now Mayor of London and the Conservative Party needs to apologise for this too.”

“Such smear-by-association has become all too common for Muslims and Muslim organizations. It is a cancer blighting sections of our political and media class and has infected the solemn business of government.”

During the campaign for London Mayor, the Tory candidate, Zac Goldsmith, pointed out that Labour’s Sadiq Khan had shared a platform with a “radical” imam named Suliman Ghani more than nine times.

The Prime Minister has since apologized for accidentally saying Ghani “supports Islamic State”.

Welcoming the apology, Dr Shafi warned that “Islamophobia” is a “cancer blighting sections of our political and media class and has infected the solemn business of government.”

He also demanded an inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party same as  the Labour Party’s inquiry into anti-Semitism.

“For the real extremists we are all opposed to, such tactics will only provide fresh new examples of a society not willing to accept Muslims for who they are,” Dr Shafi said.

“I also call for an urgent review of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. Just as the Labour Party is rightly conducting an inquiry into antisemitism, it is important for the Conservative Party to reflect upon the extent of Islamophobia in its own ranks. We should have zero tolerance for both antisemitism and Islamophobia.”

“We urge the Conservative Party to reflect and learn from this disreputable period of campaigning so that we can all draw a line and move on.”