The Home Secretary
Yvette Cooper
The horrifically shocking racist violence of the last few days in which Muslim communities and asylum seekers have seen their persons, homes, vehicles, businesses, places of residence and mosques attacked has left them feeling unsafe and vulnerable.
Enabled by their Zionist financiers abroad, far right elements have weaponised the tragic murder of three young girls in Southport to incite the country into pogroms against Muslims and people of colour.
Muslim communities have faced the brunt of their mob violence even though the perpetrator of the attack has been confirmed as coming from a Christian family. Regardless of his origin however, whole communities should not be expected to bear collective responsibility for the crimes of individuals. That it has yet again exposes a double standard by which racialised communities are held accountable as a whole for the misdeeds of a few.
It is not enough for the authorities to talk tough about dealing with the perpetrators of the attacks we are seeing. Those who over the years have created the environment of hate and sowed division in our society, such as the likes of Nigel Farage, Tommy Robinson, Laurence Fox and Katie Hopkins, should all be brought to book. The online platforms that give them free rein to spew their racist vitriol should also now face scrutiny.
More importantly, it is now more critical than ever to tackle the racism that drenches our media, social and political discourse. This is the mood music that has emboldened the racists and brought us to the brink of national race wars. Instead of confronting it head on, our leaders have appeased and indeed exploited racist sentiment for political gain. Adopting far right anti-migrant rhetoric such as “Stop the boats” and “Asian grooming gangs” they have only emboldened the xenophobes to become more aggressive and pervasive.
A case in point is the Tamworth MP Sarah Edwards who made a statement in Parliament on 30 July that residents in her constituency “want their hotel back”, a reference to a Holiday Inn that is being used by the government to house asylum seekers. On Sunday, a raging, racist mob ransacked the hotel and attempted to set it on fire. This appeasement of the far right must stop now and politicians must call this violence out for what it is: Islamophobic and racist.
It has also been evident that police forces up and down the country have often been caught off guard and also sometimes overwhelmed by rioters as they seek to protect mosques and Muslim properties. The government must start to take the security of mosques and Muslim centres much more seriously than it has. Police need to conduct better risk assessments and put in place more robust security procedures in order to protect and reassure the community.
Finally, we urge those administering our criminal justice system to recognise that the violence we are witnessing is motivated by racially and religiously motivated hatred. This fact should be foregrounded in policing of hate rallies and the prosecution of all those who break the law.
Yours faithfully
Massoud Shadjareh
Chair, Islamic Human Rights Commission
cc. 44 police force chiefs in England and Wales
