Dundee-based Humza Yousaf has admitted he could leave Scotland with his family in the future due to his fears over Islamophobia from the far-right.
The former first minister said it has been “horrendous” to watch violent scenes from escalating riots in England and Northern Ireland over the past week.
The ex-SNP leader says he is “about as Scottish as they come” but questions whether he can continue to live in the UK or even Europe with his loved ones.
Thugs have wrecked havoc in towns and cities outside Scotland after three young girls were killed in a stabbing in Southport last week.
Violent protesters took to the streets after misinformation online suggested the attacks had been carried out by a Muslim immigrant.
On Sunday, Mr Yousaf described footage showing thugs in Rotherham setting a hotel for asylum seekers on fire as a “pogrom” against Muslims.
Speaking on The News Agents Podcast, he said: “It’s felt utterly horrendous. It is a strange feeling when your very sense of belonging is questioned.
“You cut me open and I’m about as Scottish as you come.
“But I don’t know whether the future for me and my wife and my three children is going to be here in Scotland, or the United Kingdom, or in Europe and the West.
“I have, for some time, really worried about the rise of the far right, driven by Islamophobia.”
He claims anti-Muslim sentiment has been “normalised” over the years, fuelling the wave of violence which has kicked off.
“That genuinely makes me question whether or not my family has an existence here in the UK or not,” he added.
Mr Yousaf lives in Broughty Ferry with his wife Nadia El-Nakla, a Dundee councillor for the SNP.
The couple celebrated the birth of their newborn daughter, Liyana Jenin Yousaf, last month.
Mr Yousaf is stepfather to Ms El-Nakla’s eldest girl Maya, and their daughter Amal was born in 2019.
In April, we reported the former first minister, in office at the time, had been targeted with racist graffiti near his home.
Mr Yousaf said he was unsure where he would take his family if he did decide to leave Scotland.
He said: “I don’t want to go. Scotland is the country I love.”
Conversation