British Muslims face abuse after London bombs
-08/07/05
In spite of strong calls from community leaders not to scapegoat any one group in the wake of yesterdayís bombings in London, which have now claimed over 50 deaths and 700 casualties, there is evidence that Muslims across Britain are facing a barrage of insults and assaults.
Police are currently investigating a fire in a Leeds mosque, which may have been caused either by a petrol bomb or an incendiary device.
This morning Muslim monitoring groups recorded with the authorities between three and four thousand hateful and threatening messages received by mosques across the country.
Islamic groups in the UK have also received a flood of unpleasant emails, as well as a good number expressing sympathy and solidarity.
Reports of individuals being spat at and abused in the streets are being passed on directly to the police. They include three incidents of alleged aggravated bodily harm.
One East London mosque has faced specific threats to disrupt its Friday prayers, but says it will be going ahead regardless, according to a BBC report this morning.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which has been at the forefront of condemning the terror attacks, said today that during the Friday jumuíah, mosques throughout the United Kingdom would be offering prayers for the victims and families of yesterdayís series of atrocities.
“Our faith of Islam calls upon us to be upholders of justice,” said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council. “The day after London was bloodied by terrorists finds us determined to help secure this justice for the innocent victims of yesterdayís carnage.”
He continued: “The terrorists may have thought they could divide us and make us panic. It is our hope that we will all prove them conclusively wrong.”
In spite of the abuse some are facing, the MCB is urging Muslims in Britain to go about their daily routines and not to be intimated.
Muslim Association of Britain president Ahmed Sheikh meanwhile said that the attacks would make the Muslim community less safe. He said women in headscarves may be in particular danger and warned all Muslims to be vigilant.
The editor of Muslim News, Ahmed Versi, noted that one of London’s biggest Muslim areas, around Aldgate, had been hit. “The person who did this was targeting the Muslim community, along with wider British society, ruining the good relationship we have,” he declared.
Yesterday the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, visited the Indian and Muslim Welfare Society in Batley, Leeds. He called on Muslims, Christians and other faith communities to unite to prevent a backlash against minority groups in the wake of the attacks.
Dr Williams added: “We need to know what are the dangers and risks. But the will is very deep and the desire to trust each other is also very deepÖ We are different and yet we are not. There are points of really serious disagreement and that is fine, because I do not have to agree with my neighbours in order to respect and understand and love them.”
The important thing, said the Archbishop, is that “we share an absolute conviction that the structures and products of our society are under the judgement of God.”
Abid Hussein, vice-chair of Leeds Islamic Centre, echoed Dr Williams’s call for inter-faith solidarity after the bomb attacks.
He declared: “We have got to stand shoulder to shoulder. We need unity now, not divisions. We have a proud multi-cultural environment, let’s use it to stand together and beat the terrorists. We don’t know who carried out this attack yet, but we as Muslims are totally against them.”
British Muslims face abuse after London bombs
-08/07/05
In spite of strong calls from community leaders not to scapegoat any one group in the wake of yesterday’s bombings in London, which have now claimed over 50 deaths and 700 casualties, there is evidence that Muslims across Britain are facing a barrage of insults and assaults.
Police are currently investigating a fire in a Leeds mosque, which may have been caused either by a petrol bomb or an incendiary device.
This morning Muslim monitoring groups recorded with the authorities between three and four thousand hateful and threatening messages received by mosques across the country.
Islamic groups in the UK have also received a flood of unpleasant emails, as well as a good number expressing sympathy and solidarity.
Reports of individuals being spat at and abused in the streets are being passed on directly to the police. They include three incidents of alleged aggravated bodily harm.
One East London mosque has faced specific threats to disrupt its Friday prayers, but says it will be going ahead regardless, according to a BBC report this morning.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which has been at the forefront of condemning the terror attacks, said today that during the Friday jumu’ah, mosques throughout the United Kingdom would be offering prayers for the victims and families of yesterday’s series of atrocities.
“Our faith of Islam calls upon us to be upholders of justice,” said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council. “The day after London was bloodied by terrorists finds us determined to help secure this justice for the innocent victims of yesterday’s carnage.”
He continued: “The terrorists may have thought they could divide us and make us panic. It is our hope that we will all prove them conclusively wrong.”
In spite of the abuse some are facing, the MCB is urging Muslims in Britain to go about their daily routines and not to be intimated.
Muslim Association of Britain president Ahmed Sheikh meanwhile said that the attacks would make the Muslim community less safe. He said women in headscarves may be in particular danger and warned all Muslims to be vigilant.
The editor of Muslim News, Ahmed Versi, noted that one of London’s biggest Muslim areas, around Aldgate, had been hit. “The person who did this was targeting the Muslim community, along with wider British society, ruining the good relationship we have,” he declared.
Yesterday the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, visited the Indian and Muslim Welfare Society in Batley, Leeds. He called on Muslims, Christians and other faith communities to unite to prevent a backlash against minority groups in the wake of the attacks.
Dr Williams added: “We need to know what are the dangers and risks. But the will is very deep and the desire to trust each other is also very deepÖ We are different and yet we are not. There are points of really serious disagreement and that is fine, because I do not have to agree with my neighbours in order to respect and understand and love them.”
The important thing, said the Archbishop, is that “we share an absolute conviction that the structures and products of our society are under the judgement of God.”
Abid Hussein, vice-chair of Leeds Islamic Centre, echoed Dr Williams’s call for inter-faith solidarity after the bomb attacks.
He declared: “We have got to stand shoulder to shoulder. We need unity now, not divisions. We have a proud multi-cultural environment, let’s use it to stand together and beat the terrorists. We don’t know who carried out this attack yet, but we as Muslims are totally against them.”