The Muslim Council of Britain has released a statement following the outrageous and cowardly attacks which occurred in New Zealand which have resulted in the tragic loss of 49 innocent lives.
The statement reads:
‘The Muslim Council of Britain today condemns the horrific, cowardly and Islamophobic terrorist attacks that have taken place in New Zealand today.
‘Almost 50 people are said to have been murdered at two mosques at Christchurch.
‘The New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain offered his condolences to the families. He said:
“This is the most deadly Islamophobic terrorist attack we have witnessed in recent times.
“It would seem that Brenton Tarrant’s murderous intention was to target Muslims at their places of worship and on their sacred day.
“Reports suggested the attacker is on record spouting hate against Muslims and other minority communities.
“My condolences to the families affected.
“As the rest of us prepare to undertake our own Friday prayers today, we do so with the anxiety as to whether our mosques and communities are safe in the face of unabated Islamophobia and hostility against Muslims.
“I call on our government to redouble its efforts to ensure mosques are
In the UK, in the last two months alone, two mosques in Newcastle and Manchester have been attacked by vandals who spray-painted Nazi swastika symbols, Martin Stokes of North London was sentenced to 5 years in jail for intentionally driving into a crowd of worshippers exiting a mosque, and last October the Home Office reported that religious hate crime rocketed by 40 per cent across England and Wales in just one year, with more than half targeted at Muslims.A
The statement released by the Muslim Council of Britain continued:
‘We ask the UK Government:
‘1. To re-open the Places of Worship Security Fund run by the Home Office with funding available proportionate to the risk Muslim communities face. We note that it is currently closed, has been since August 2018 and is not open for further applications at present. We ask why it is not open on a continual basis in similarity to other faith groups, when it will re-open and what it is doing today to allay the concerns of the British Muslim and other minority communities about the risk posed to them from far-right hate crime?
‘2. With Britain about to leave the European Union (EU), we ask what the UK Government is doing to tackle the potential rise in far-right attacks against British Muslims and other minority communities, as was seen just after the Brexit referendum in June 2016, including the murder of West Yorkshire MP Jo Cox by 52-year-old Thomas Mair, who the Judge when sentencing him to life in prison, said he was motivated by “admiration for Nazis and similar anti-democratic white supremacist creeds.”
‘3. Last November, the APPG on British Muslims published a definition of Islamophobia, based on
Tribute
Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, has condemned the attacks and said “this will be one of New Zealand’s darkest days”.
Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, tweeted:
“In response to the horrific attack in New Zealand, I am in constant contact with @MetPoliceUK who are stepping up reassurance patrols around mosques and increasing engagement with communities of all faiths”.
A spokesperson for Hope Not Hate said:
“We have seen the terrible news that many people have been murdered in a terrorist attack in New Zealand.
“It is heartbreaking. Our thoughts go out to the families of the dead and wounded, to the Muslim community in NZ and around the world. Stay strong. Kia Kaha.
“The bloody terrorist attack in Christchurch was carried out by a
“The terrorist’s manifesto uses the stock phrases of the
“An increasing number of
“In Oslo and Utøya, Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, and in so many places around the world, this violent ideology destroys lives and rips families apart.
“We send our love to the families affected and stand in solidarity with the communities under attack”.
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