LONDON, 11 July 2005 — British Muslims have been subjected to a higher than usual level of abuse since Thursday’s bomb attacks in London, police and Muslim groups said yesterday.
But they have also received thousands of messages of support from non-Muslims who recognize the vast majority of Britain’s 1.6 million Muslims have no sympathy for those who carried out the attacks.
Police said one person was assaulted and seriously injured in London in what they described as a hate crime, and Muslims reported attacks on several mosques.
“I think it’s probably an increase on the general level of hate crime that we experience in London,” said Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick.
“But this is London,” he added. “It is the most diverse capital city in the world. We’ve got Londoners, faith groups, everybody being united in adversity as a result of the attacks rather than fragmenting, which I think just says something about the uniqueness of London and the spirit of the people of London.”
Muslim community leaders confirmed they had seen a rise in abuse following the bombings. “We’ve been getting hate mail every few minutes,” said Ahmed Versi, editor of the Muslim News newspaper, based just outside London. However, he said the paper had also received plenty of calls and messages of support from non-Muslims.
Iqbal Sacranie, head of Britain’s largest Muslim lobby group, the Muslim Council of Britain, reported several attacks on mosques in northwest England and one in London.
Mazen Mahdi adds from Manama: Muslims in Britain are safe and would not be targeted as a result of the recent bombings in London, according to British Ambassador to Bahrain Robin Lamb.
“Muslims in Britain are in no danger of being the target of mass government action and the government guarantees their safety,” Lamb told the Bahraini men and women who took part in a candle light vigil outside the British Embassy in Manama to condemn terrorism and pay respect to victims in London and Iraq.
Lamb thanked the crowds for their solidarity with the British people and reassured that there would be no wavering in the British government to combat terrorism, which he said knows no religion, and defeat it.
