The Muslim Council of Britain have issued a statement in response to a mosque in North London being petrol bombed earlier today and have called on the authorities to tackle Islamophobia seriously on a national level.
They have also called upon the media to exercise its responsibility by not giving platform to extremists of any background, and despite these attacks, have advised all communities within Britain to remain unified.
The words ‘EDL’ were scrawled on the side of the burnt out Al-Rahma Islamic Centre in Muswell Hill.
Farooq Murad, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said: “This is the latest in a series of attacks on Muslim institutions since the horrific murder of Drummer Lee Rigby. The British Muslim community came out in droves to condemn this murder, and it is despicable that Muslims should be held to account and suffer in this way.”
He added: “It is time for serious action against such crimes. We had fine and decisive words from our leaders condemning the actions of the English Defence League, now we need a proper response from our police authorities, starting with a national police response to this issue.”
Admirably, local police forces and borough commanders have been liaising with communities. Now we need to hear from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the leaders of Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) as to what they will be doing to protect this rise in attacks.”
Mr Murad appealed to the media to exercise their responsibility: “Extremists are not thriving on the margins, but very much in the public mainstream.”
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At worst, anti-Muslim sentiment is being stoked up by some commentators and some public figures, at best, some are playing down the physical attacks claiming that we are ‘overhyping the backlash’. Meanwhile, journalists are falling over themselves to give a platform to publicity seekers who do not speak in our name.”
