Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence

Surge in racist attacks after Tube bombings

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslim leaders warned that a wave of hate crimes was sweeping across Scotland as police hunted a hammer-wielding gang of 10 men who yelled abuse about the London bombings as they attacked two young Asians.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that crimes including verbal racist abuse have increased in Glasgow, Edinburgh and elsewhere north of the border since the July 7 terror attacks.

Osama Saeed, of the Muslim Association of Britain in Scotland, said he believed that many more incidents were going unreported. He said:

“Anecdotally, we’ve heard many more accounts of racist attacks against Muslims in the last month. Unfortunately, there is a lack of confidence in the Muslim community that their complaints will be believed or taken seriously so they often don’t feel confident enough to report it.”

The Herald, 3 August 2005

Update:  See also “Hate crimes up by 20-per-cent in Scotland”, The Herald, 4 August 2005

Hate crimes soar after bombings

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Religious hate crimes, mostly against Muslims, have risen six-fold in London since the bombings, new figures show.

There were 269 religious hate crimes in the three weeks after 7 July, compared with 40 in the same period of 2004. Most were verbal abuse and minor assaults, but damage to mosques and property with a great “emotional impact” also occurred, police said.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said he had never seen so much anger among young Muslims.

Communities were particularly frustrated by the increased use of stop-and-search and the new “shoot-to-kill to protect” policy of dealing with suicide bombers, he said. “There is no doubt that incidents impacting on the Muslim community have increased.”

BBC News, 3 August 2005

See also here and here.

Media and government blamed for rise in Islamophobic crimes

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Responding to the announcement of a 500% increase in hate crimes against Muslims since the London bombings, the Muslim Association of Britain have blamed media hysteria for the reaction coupled with a lack of strength from the government in combating it.

The organisation have also said they believe the true figure of Islamophobic crime to be much higher as Muslims who have suffered abuse are not reporting it to the police.

Commenting, Anas Altikriti of MAB said:

“Blaming all Muslims for the heinous London bombings as some people have plainly done, is as stupid as blaming all white people for the extremism of the BNP.

“We don’t know the true backlash against Muslims as it is clear to us that many Muslims have not reported the crimes perpetrated on them to the police. We urge anyone who has suffered to come forward so we can truly grasp the scale of the problem and move to remedy it.

“We’re not surprised by the figures we’ve seen though as the media hysteria against the Muslim community, their beliefs, and their personalities has been beyond the pale. The government also has to take responsibility for this as they have been happy for Muslims to carry the can as it has meant a lack of focus on the role of foreign policy in the bombings.”

MAB news release, 3 August 2005

Britain’s Muslim scapegoats

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Four weeks after the explosions in the capital, a survey of forces by The Independent yesterday found a substantial increase in racially motivated crime, particularly in inner cities. Experts said as many as one in six of those abused or attacked were not Muslim but were simply of an Asian appearance.

As community leaders expressed alarm over the surge in race-hate crimes, a Conservative frontbench spokesman was accused of stoking racial tension by calling for Muslims to get out of Britain if they did not like its way of life.

The increased tension was further highlighted last night by a moderate cleric who suggested that Muslim women should shed their traditional veils in order to prevent themselves becoming targets.

The survey of police forces, carried out the day after the Metropolitan Police reported that faith-hate crimes had risen by 600 per cent compared with last year, showed that other large forces, such as West Yorkshire and West Midlands, had seen significant increases in race-hate crime. It also indicated that, far from being centred on London, such incidents have been recorded across Britain.

Independent, 3 August 2005

See also “Race-hate crimes surge after bombs”, Independent, 2 August 2010

Racist gang attack two Asian men

Posted on by Eddie Truman

Police have said that two Asians were racially attacked by a gang who made comments about the London bombings. The incident came after Lothian and Borders Police called for calm amid fears that racial incidents might increase following events in London. The gang hurled racist abuse and vandalised the car of the men who had parked near Leith Walk in Edinburgh.

BBC News, 2 August 2005

Faith hate hotline launched as attacks on Muslims increase

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The police are to launch an emergency hotline to report “faith hate” attacks after a steep rise in abuse and assaults on Muslims in London in the wake of the suicide bombings.

Police reports seen by The Independent on Sunday show the number of attacks in the capital rose to more than 20 a day after the first bombings on 7 July. The police have recorded 230 religious hatred offences in the past three weeks.

After the first blasts and the attempted bombings two weeks later, racist attacks more than doubled to a peak of nearly 60 a day. The police have logged more than 800 racist crimes since the first bombings, reversing a long downward trend.

Somali Muslim women, who tend to wear long robes and hijab head-coverings, have been singled out after it emerged several of the suspected bombers arrested last week are of East African origin. One woman had her hijab torn off.

The new hotline will be set up tomorrow by the Met’s Assistant Commissioner Tariq Ghaffur. Mr Ghaffur, the most senior Asian and Muslim policeman, said there had been a “very substantial increase” in faith crimes in London.

There had also been an increase in the severity of attacks. “What used to be abuse has now escalated into assault. What was minor damage could escalate into a lot more serious damage. I think that is trend across the country,” he said.

Mr Ghaffur will ask people to report incidents to the hotline because he fears some ethnic and religious minorities could “retreat” and not report incidents to the police. “Quite clearly, we fear there will be an escalation,” he said.

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Imam beaten unconscious

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dulwich Islamic Centre’s Imam became yet another victim of a vicious Islamophobic attack on Saturday July 16.

The driver of a white van tailed Muhammed Haq as he cycled to Asr (late afternoon prayers) at about 7 pm. The driver pulled over in Lordship Lane, Dulwich, south London, and repeatedly punched Haq shattering his cheekbone. Haq lost consciousness while the assailant fled.

Despite the pain, the 27-year-old spoke of the attack.

Speaking to The Muslim News Haq said, “I was on my bicycle when I noticed a white van beside me. It pulled over in the middle of the street and blocked my path. I assumed he wanted directions. He said nothing – but the next moment he was hitting me. He started screaming ‘Al-Qa’idah’ at me whilst punching me.”

Haq then blacked out but said his bruises indicate he was hit after he lost consciousness.

He is due for surgery on his cheek on Monday, July 25.

Police quizzed a 20-year-old man on July 18, on suspicion of racist assault. A spokesperson for the police confirmed the arrest to The Muslim News, “William Gregory, aged 20, appeared before magistrates and was charged with Religiously Aggravated Assault on July 19.”

Worshippers at the Northcross Road Centre were also singled out on the day of the London bomb attacks when yobs dumped pork outside – a grave insult to Muslims.

Haq, who led prayers for the London bomb victims, said, “We had just finished prayers for those who died when somebody spotted the pork.” He described it as the work “of mindless idiots”.

Chairman of the Centre, Hussain Malik, said, “We utterly condemn the despicable attacks on London and we utterly condemn these criminal attacks on our mosque.”

Muslim News, 29 July 2005

Muslim fears grow over rise in violence, arson and verbal abuse since bombings

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The number of hate crimes against Asians has risen dramatically over the three weeks since the 7 July suicide bombings, Muslim groups have said. Incidents being reported include verbal abuse and spitting directed at Muslims in the street, graffiti and vandalism of Asian homes and mosques and some assaults on individuals. There have also been at least two incidents of arson and one car being damaged. Three days after the 7 July bombings, an Asian man was murdered in Nottingham. A number of people have been arrested in connection with the killing.

Independent, 29 July 2005

Muslim groups warn tabloids inspire attacks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Express front pageMuslim groups warn tabloids inspire attacks

Morning Star, 29 July 2005

Muslim community leaders accused “xenophobic” tabloids such as the Daily Express yesterday of sparking a violent upsurge of racial attacks in the wake of the recent terror attacks.

The Muslim Association of Britain said that the “hysterical” gutter press – the Express, the Daily Mail and the Sun – had stoked up racial unrest, simply to sell papers, putting British Muslims in danger.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission said that violent attacks have increased 13-fold since July 7. Committee chairman Massoud Shadjareh revealed that verbal and physical assaults have increased from a base rate of six or seven per week to more than 170 in the last fortnight.

Nine mosques have been attacked, a garage has been fire-bombed, people are being assaulted on the street and homes have had their windows broken, he revealed.

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