Donald Trump wins 'Islamophobe of the Year' award

Trump was given the award primarily for his call to ban Muslims from entering the US.Reuters

Donald Trump has been awarded "Islamophobe of the Year" by an Islamic campaign group.

The victory was announced on Saturday at a satirical event, the "Islamophobia Awards", in London by the Islamic Human Rights Commision (IHRC). Trump's nomination was cited as having "too many reasons to list" prior to the event.

"It is bad enough that anyone can come out with such arrogant, unapologetic bigotry and hate speech but I think what is really frightening is that Donald Trump is supported by such a large number of voters in what is the most powerful nation in the world" said IHRC's chairman Massoud Shadjareh according to Time magazine.

Alongside Trump, other candidates for the award in the "International" category included Geert Wilders, the far-right anti-Islamic Dutch politician and Tajikistan, which has promoted a campaign to eradicate conservative Islam.

David Cameron won the UK category for his "comments about Muslim women needing to learn English and being 'traditionally submissive'", wrote the organisers.

The group said the awards aim "to subvert Islamophobia through comedy and revue while simultaneously addressing a serious and significant issue in a creative manner."

Last year the IHRC was criticised for insensitivity after it gave the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo the award "for their callous, racist cartoon of the drowned Syrian baby refugee Aylan Kurdi."

The organisation defended itself by saying if Charlie Hebdo was allowed to satirise Islam, they had a right to do the same in return.