Guest post by Brent Muslims
Muslim communities in Brent and across the country are fearing for their safety after Far-Right riots kicked off in Southport and other areas last week.
What’s app groups are busy sharing messages on staying safe, warnings of upcoming EDL action across London and what to do in an emergency. There have even been reports of acid attacks on Muslim women which has understandably made many incredibly anxious.
Sadly, the catalyst for the riots has been the murder of three young girls who were attending a summer dance club. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all the families of the deceased, those who were injured and all those who have been affected.
The Far Right have used the tragic deaths to begin mass scale Islamophobic attacks on Muslim communities and places of worship across the UK. In their ignorance and racism - they have targeted other communities as well.
These atrocious acts by the Far Right have been brewing for decades. The UK is no stranger to race riots and Far Right thuggery, but this violence has been rooted in hatred for the Muslim community. This is scary business considering widespread anti-Muslim hatred and killings worldwide.
Andrew Feinstein recently said on X (Twitter) that “Islamophobia is embedded in the British establishment.” This is probably why our leaders and politicians seem to intentionally ignore the reality of Islamophobia and even its existence. This vile hatred, fear and suspicion of Muslims has now made the community even more vulnerable to attack and possibly even death.
Yet who really cares? As a community, we feel like we are in this on our own. We have had a wishy-washy statement from Brent Council that does not once even mention the Muslim community directly when they are the main targets, and on the front line of attack. In a borough with a population of 21% Muslims of diverse backgrounds, as well as being the second largest faith group in Brent - the council continues to gaslight our experiences and ignore our reality.
This behaviour from Brent Council is historic. An-Nisa Society, a long-standing grass-roots Muslim charity based in Brent, tells us that the council has ignored Muslims for decades, never understood Muslim communities needs and in fact excluded them at an institutional level which has led to the increased socio-economic exclusion of Muslims including poor health outcomes. This is outlined in detail in their recent report, Islamophobia: From Denial to Action.’
The catalogue of failures by the council has led to real devastation in Muslim communities. During the first wave of Covid, the highest number of deaths across the country was in Church End - a majority Muslim area. Institutional Islamophobia being a root cause of such poor health outcomes.
The council has also continued to peddle the Prevent programme which has labelled all Muslims ‘from the cradle to the grave’ as a potential terror threat. The Prevent training predominantly highlights Muslim ‘terrorism’ while not seeming to have a grip on the threat of the Far Right or Hindutva. The optics are all wrong.
On top of that, last year a Muslim woman in hijab was verbally abused for being a Muslim on the number 18 bus in Harlesden. The Mayor of Brent at the time, Councillor Orleen Hylton ignored the attack and didn’t report it internally or to the Police.
The incident went viral on X, however Brent Council remained silent for five days. The eventual response was dismissive, lacking in seriousness and not heartfelt at all. The Mayor stayed in her position and the council simply carried on business and usual, paying no heed to the upset within the Muslim community.
The council is charging forward with its approach and policies that fuel Islamophobia. And even with these horrific riots against Muslims they are once again showing they don’t care and haven’t got a clue by not acting quickly enough and trying to distance themselves from taking ownership of the problem at hand.
The horrendous, repugnant riots taking place as we speak have been caused by negative assumptions about Muslims, a perceived fear and threat, a deep rooted anti-Muslim hatred and all fuelled by institutionalised Islamophobia.
Muslim life has been devalued for centuries. Islamophobia is not new and the history goes right back to the start of Islam. If you want to understand it and deal with, you need to understand the specific context of Islamophobia and it’s root causes. All of which the council doesn’t seem to know anything about.
The question now being asked by the community is about where is the leadership from Brent Council in regards to the riots? We don’t want to only hear from the politicians but the Senior Management Team who have failed us.
The council’s treatment of its diverse Muslim communities has led to disenfranchisement and anger. Muslims tell us they have no trust in Brent. They don’t trust the leadership, and see their double standards loud and clear. One such example is how the council have vocally supported the people of Ukraine whilst remaining silent and neutral on the perceived genocide in Gaza. The message is clear - Muslims in Brent are second-class citizens and not valued.
We don’t want bland insincere statements- we want answers. The community want to meet the council leadership, speak to them and hold them to account. They want to know what are their short and long term aims in fighting Islamophobia. We don’t want to be fobbed off by a tick-box event for Islamophobia Awareness Month - we want meaningful change and want it now before our most feared outcome happens.
Brent Muslims
Brent Muslims are a group of young Brent residents who are dedicated to tackling Islamophobia in Brent, and working towards justice, peace and equality for all.
