UK Muslim community faces rising fear amid surge in right-wing riots

A rise in extreme right-wing violence in the UK has targeted the Muslim community, triggering fear and anxiety.

It began after a stabbing incident in the English seaside town of Southport on July 29, when 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana killed three children and injured 10 others.

Since then, it has spread across the country, with numerous reports of attacks on Muslims, their businesses, and Islamic centres.

According to a survey conducted following the event by the international initiative More in Common, 53 percent of the respondents shared the view that “Britain is now unsafe for Muslims" compared to 38 percent before the extreme right-wing violence.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Muhammad Mussa, a spokesperson for the London-based independent advocacy organisation CAGE International, said the cause of the extreme right-wing violence is a combination of many factors.

“The riots have been a combination of more than 30 years of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment in this country. What we've seen is that the government, the establishment, and its allies in the media have constantly used immigration, asylum seeking, and Islamophobia as a means to whip up fear against ethnic minorities in the UK,” he said.

Anti-racism protest

Mussa noted that those involved in these riots are uneducated and not knowledgeable in culture, politics, and history, and follow extreme far-right media and politicians.

He further said that disinformation about the attacker in the Southport stabbing being Muslim reflects the hatred toward Muslims and immigrants, as well as asylum seekers.

Mussa pointed out that the extreme right-wing violence against Muslims has led to fear and anxiety within the Muslim community.

“There is a lot of fear in the communities across the country after what's happened. We’ve seen reports of both Muslim men and women being attacked physically and badly. We had mosques, businesses, and homes being broken into as well. So, naturally, there will be fear, uncertainty, and anxiety. But, I think, last week, on Wednesday, there was a massive anti-fascist, anti-racism protest across the country.

“And so these acts of solidarity offer reassurance to the community as well, but more needs to be done to safeguard our community by the government and by the police. And then, there needs to be an end to this racist and Islamophobic rhetoric by the government and the media itself as well,” he added.