On his first night as First Minister, Humza Yousaf posted a picture on social media of him leading his family in prayer as they broke their fast (it being Ramadan, and he and his family being Muslim). Which, frankly, is entirely fine, and normal, and in a multicultural society is to be celebrated.
Of course, this was then met by wailing and gnashing of teeth from certain quarters on social media. Often, the refrain was "if Kate Forbes had won, and posted a picture of a Christian prayer meeting, would the response have been the same?"
Well, leaving aside the fact that she would have been unlikely to do so, two quick things:
- There's no actual evidence to suggest that the response wouldn't have been broadly supportive. Granted, there would be some people on social media taking umbrage at the whole thing... but then, that's no different either.
- Even if the response had been wildly different, though, that's not a valid criticism of Humza Yousaf - it's a reflection of the intolerance of some sections of our society, and especially on social media.
Hopefully, this extremely intolerant focus on the religious convictions, or lack thereof, of the two highest-profile candidates in the recent contest will prove to be a very short-lived thing. Because if we really are the tolerant and inclusive society that we like to think we are, it really shouldn't matter.
Of all the things Humza Yousaf has done in his time in politics, that is one of the least worthy of remark.
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