15 April 2019

PRESS RELEASE

IHRC has written to the Home Secretary Sajid Javid asking why he has failed to respond adequately to a letter asking why his office has allocated tens of millions of pounds to ensure the security of Britain’s Jewish communities yet made available only a fraction of that amount for other religious groups.

After IHRC had queried the amounts, instead of addressing the points raised the Home Office sent back a generic reply containing information that was already in the public domain.

The government is making available £5m for the protection of places of worship over the next three years. However it has allocated £51.7 million over the last four years to the Community Security Trust for the security of the Jewish community.

IHRC’s letter states: “We are curious to know why you feel £5 million over three years is sufficient for the Muslim community of 3,372,966, the Hindu community of 1,021,449 the Sikh community of 404,891, the Christian community of 33,111,246 (according to the Office for National Statistic) as well as other communities, compared to the £51.7 million allocated over the last four years to the CST for the security of the Jewish community who has a population of 336,965 in the UK (according to the Office of National Statistics).”

It reminds the Home Secretary that the Muslim community in the UK and its places of worship have been targeted by extremists since the terrorist attack on Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, including five mosques in Birmingham and one in Scotland.

The letter also accuses the Home Office of undermining Muslims’ security by reinforcing the narrative that Muslims are a threat rather than peaceful, law-abiding equal citizens. Even where the Home Office has claimed to protect Muslims, it has done so under the the rubric of terrorism. For example the Muslim Contact Units were set up supposedly to help the community, yet their main focus has been to gather intelligence on Muslims rather than the security of the community and operates on the assumption that Muslims are all terrorists or potential terrorists – a threat to security rather than a community who deserves protection.

The full letter can be read here: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/activities/campaigns/21798-press-release-sajid-javid-told-security-funding-for-places-of-worship-discriminatory/

For more information or comment please contact the Press Office on (+44) 20 8904 4222 or (+44) 7958 607475[ENDS]

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IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 598
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HA9 7XH
United Kingdom
Telephone (+44) 20 8904 4222
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