Rising fear among Muslims in UK following extreme right-wing violence

By Zuhal Demirci

LONDON (AA) - 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 centers.

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

- Fear in Muslim communities across the country

In an interview with Anadolu, Muhammad Mussa, a spokesperson for the London-based independent advocacy organization 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.

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.

- ‘People are scared to even live in this country now’

Rushna Begum, a 39-year-old resident of London, reacted to the extreme right-wing violence particularly targeting the Muslim community, emphasizing that Muslims are a part of this society.

Begum said they received news that the first street incident occurred in Liverpool and it was an attack on a mosque, saying: “It's not right for it to happen to our mosque. The guy who did it (the stabbing incident in Southport), he wasn't even a Muslim.”

Begum recalled that a woman on the social media platform X made a misleading post claiming that the perpetrator of the stabbing incident was a Muslim, and this post was then widely shared.

She argued that the woman should be sentenced just like other extreme right-wingers involved in violent acts.

“That lady should be in prison like the other people are in prison because of what they did."

Begum noted that while the police are working to intervene in the street violence, their efforts are insufficient.

“I'm so angry at the fact that the government is not doing anything about this. We were home for the past four or five days because we were scared to even go out. And I've got young kids. Every time I go out with my kids, I'm always scared. Around here is fine, but when we want to go to far places to visit, we can't. We're at home, and we're scared to take our young kids out. This is not right for us, all of us I guess, as Muslims.”

Begum said that fear dominates Muslims born and raised in the UK following the extreme right-wing violence.

“People are scared to even live in this country now because of all this happening, and it's getting worse and worse each day. As Muslims, we’re scared.”

She noted that veiled women especially feel scared when they are outside.

“As a hijabi woman, as a niqabi, the full outfit we wear, the burkas and stuff like that. It's very, very scary to wear stuff like that and walk down the streets.”

She also pointed out that some veiled women have chosen to stay at home and have their needs delivered to their homes.

“They're doing deliveries, you know, just getting home deliveries when they can't go out with the kids, with niqabs. They're very scared to even go out.”

- Thinking twice before going outside

Zaib, a British citizen of Pakistani origin, said she was in Pakistan due to her father's death during the violence, and after the events, her friends and neighbors called her to describe their fear.

“People were scared, and Muslims -- my friends, my neighbors -- when they shared their views with me, because I was away. But they called me even on the phone. They shared their concerns with me. It means it was really shocking. And then they shared with me that they were very scared to go out.”

Zaib, who felt very frightened after hearing about the incidents, particularly in Walthamstow Center, which has diverse ethnic groups and numerous train stations, emphasized her shock at the news.

“You are Muslim, you're wearing hijab, and you could be attacked. I mean, out of the blue, anybody can attack you,” she said.

She noted that the British government has taken steps to ensure peace and security within the community, stressing that urgent actions are needed, especially in the capital London.

Zaib said that Muslims cannot take personal steps to prevent such incidents, but it is the government's responsibility.

“After this violence, really, I'm scared. Because, I have to think double before going out, before stepping out of my house. I think I'm not feeling as safe as I've been for the last 12 years, like my period of staying here.”

- ‘They just want to use it to cause violence’

Young Londoner Hammad shared his view that extreme right-wing violence stems from angry and hate-filled people.

Despite the revelation that the perpetrator of the Southport stabbing attack was not a Muslim, he noted that Muslims are still targeted in the violence.

“Despite finding that out, these people, it's as if they're using the excuse of these innocent lives just for them to push their motives and their hatred.”

“Do they really care about the innocent lives, or do they just want to use it just to cause violence and just to stir hatred amongst our community?"

"If they really care about the innocent lives of the three children who were murdered in this country, and they should be angry, what about the anger, that same anger, over the thousands of innocent children's lives lost in Palestine?”