Fear grips UK's Muslim communities as far-right riots spread nationwide
Fear gripped Muslim communities across the UK on Sunday as far-right riots and Islamophobic attacks spread to more cities, days after deadly stabbings in Southport were falsely attributed to Muslims.
For a fifth consecutive night, riots erupted in several cities, including London, Liverpool, Manchester, Sunderland, Belfast and Hull, after three children were killed and eight others seriously wounded in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
The 17-year-old charged with the murders, Axel Rudakubana, was born to Christian Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 and moved to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013.
Although the suspect is under the age of 18, which typically means he would be granted anonymity, Judge Andrew Menary decided to make Rudakubana's name public, balancing the risk to the suspect's family with the public interest in accurately reporting his identity.
On Saturday afternoon, violent scenes broke out in several cities across England and Northern Ireland, with videos from Hull showing an Asian man being attacked by a mob of white men blaming Muslims and immigrants for the killings.
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Similar scenes unfolded in Bristol and Manchester, where Black men walking alone were attacked by groups of masked white men.
Videos posted on social media from Manchester appeared to show a Sainsbury's Local supermarket being forced to close after it was stormed by rioters who stole items such as bottles of wine and cans of beer.
In Leeds, around 150 people, most of them men, could be seen carrying Saint George's Cross flags and shouting: "You're not English any more." Meanwhile, hundreds of counter-protesters, vastly outnumbering the mob, could be heard saying: "Nazi scum, off our streets."
'The government is right to speak out against the extremism witnessed on our streets, but it has been silent on the Islamophobia fuelling that extremism'
- Zara Mohammed, MCB general secretary
Later, videos shared on social media showed balaclava-clad youths throwing bricks, fireworks and flares at police, while shops were looted.
Following the attacks, groups of Muslims gathered to defend mosques and other places of worship from the far-right rioters.
Many Muslims said in footage shared online that they were on the streets to support the police and would not initiate attacks against the far-right rioters.
The violence, which led to numerous arrests and put Britain's Muslim community on edge, presents a significant challenge for Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s month-old premiership.
It has also spotlighted hard-right agitators linked to football hooliganism at a time when anti-immigration elements are gaining some electoral success in British politics.
Starmer has accused "thugs" of "hijacking" the nation's grief to "sow hatred" and pledged that those committing violent acts would "face the full force of the law". However, his administration has been criticised for failing to reach out to British Muslim community leaders and groups.
'Unchecked Islamophobia'
Much of the condemnation so far has been directed at figures like Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, for fuelling the violence on X.
Merseyside police believe that supporters of the English Defence League (EDL), the far-right group previously led by Robinson, were responsible for injuring more than 50 officers and terrorising Muslim worshippers during the riot in Southport.
In several videos posted on X, Robinson publicly legitimised the disorder and railed against Muslims to his 800,000 followers. Robinson was previously banned on X, known as Twitter at the time, but he was reinstated in November after Musk bought the platform.
On Friday, Musk engaged with Robinson on X, hours after Starmer warned that social media "carries responsibility" for tackling misinformation. Musk responded with two exclamation marks to Robinson's post about the prime minister's response to the disorder.
Following the rioting, there has also been condemnation of MP Nigel Farage's role in inciting the violence after he questioned "whether the truth is being withheld from us".
Robert Jenrick, a favourite in the Tory leadership race, said that the Reform leader's comments did not "make the situation better".
Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly was also criticised for saying that Starmer taking the knee had sent "completely the wrong message" to protesters, adding that there was "never a justification for disorder like this".
In a statement late on Saturday, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said hundreds of mosques were toughening their security after far-right mobs "terrorised Muslim communities", triggering "anxiety and fear".
"What we saw on the streets of Britain [is] the consequence of unchecked Islamophobia: acceptable, potent, and very real in our society today," Zara Mohammed, the secretary general of the MCB, said in the statement.
"The government is right to speak out against the extremism witnessed on our streets, but it has been silent on the Islamophobia fuelling that extremism."
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