Muslim Council of Britain Urges Unity in Face of Far-right Riots

London, MINA – The Muslim Council of Britain on Wednesday said that “thugs do not represent” the vast majority of Britons, urging unity in the face of recent far-right violence across the country.

“We know many communities across the UK remain fearful of violent far-right extremist riots,” Zara Mohammed, the group’s secretary-general, said on such hatred and Islamophobia, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a video message, Mohammed said: “We have not experienced this much violence and hatred in a very long time.”

Noting that she had been in touch with mosques across the country and was aware of the “real threat” they were under, she gave some advice, starting with being safe.

“First, stay safe, whether it’s your personal safety or the safety of your mosque community center business, please be careful,” she said, urging people to do a risk assessment, be in touch with the police, and make sure they take every precaution to be vigilant in these “very, very difficult and dark times.”

“Remember to reach out to your allies, friends, neighbors, and to be united and make sure this hate doesn’t win,” he added.

Lastly, she asked people to keep faith.

“We know our communities have been through so much, and these are just testing times, and we will overcome them once more,” he added.

The UK has been rocked by turmoil for days, with violent far-right rioters spewing racist and Islamophobic vitriol targeting Muslims, minority groups, and migrants.

The riots were fueled by false claims spread online that a suspect arrested for the July 29 fatal stabbing of three children in Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker.

Authorities have since identified the attacker as Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in Cardiff, Wales to Rwandan parents, but this has done little to deter the far-right mobs. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)