Muslim family shot at in west London

A Muslim family of four were shot at when their car was hit by a bullet while out shopping in west London, The Muslim News reports exclusively in this week’s issue of the paper.

The incident, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the latest wave of Islamophobia attacks in the UK, took place, when the family from Bosnia were loading items in their car at Denham Car Boot Sale, near Uxbridge. The local police described the shooting, which happened on October 14, as a racial and religious hate crime, but were unable to comment further.

The father of the family told The Muslim News that he was in the car at the time but that his wife and two infant children were standing outside. “I was more concerned about the children. We adults might not die from a badly aimed bullet, but the children, it could easily have killed them,” the 45-year-old father said.

The shooting comes amid a series of attacks, mainly against Muslim women, documented in The Muslim News, which have been blamed on House of Commons leader Jack Straw and other ministers making demands on Muslims, including the removal of the face veil.

The Bosnian father also criticised Straw for provoking the shooting, saying that people like him “who incite religious hatred in people are also criminals”. “You can see we are Muslims through our dress, and my wife was wearing the niqab. It is amazing how these people could have such monstrous minds and such hatred within,” he said.

Muslim News, 23 October 2006