Shafaqna English- Three weeks after the violence that in many cases so clearly targeted Muslims in the UK, there is still a reluctance from political leaders to call the attacks Islamophobic. Normalising of Islamophobia in public life is fuelling hate and violence.
The violence that swept across the UK last month felt somehow grimly familiar. Within hours of the tragic murder of three beautiful children in Southport, Merseyside, the internet was awash with poisonous disinformation.
High-profile figures were reposting false claims that the perpetrator was Muslim, in an attempt to fuel narratives about the supposed failures of immigration and multiculturalism.
Neighbourhoods across the country were attacked by far-right mobs. Mosques, homes and businesses were targeted, and Muslims and people of colour were assaulted in the street, often in broad daylight.
These attacks were the culmination of years of Islamophobic and anti-immigrant rhetoric used with increasing frequency and zealousness in public life.
Sources: Middle East Eye