Muslim taxi drivers were amongst cabbies of all faiths and none who have been praised on social media for giving free lifts and helping victims of Monday’s deadly suicide attack at Manchester Arena which killed 22 people and injured 59.
While some were very quick yesterday to link the attack to Islam, many on social media, including concert attendees came to the defence of Manchester’s Muslim community.
Outside the stadium, where 22-year-old Salman Ramadan Abedi detonated a homemade suicide bomb, Muslim taxi drivers guided passengers to safe pick up locations and got them out of danger.
Whilst the likes of LBC presenter Katie Hopkins and the former leader of the EDL Tommy Robinson tried exploiting the attack to spark anti-Muslim prejudice, others shared their positive experiences of Muslim support during the chaos.
Taxi drivers of all faiths and none drove for free throughout Monday night, whilst others offered attendees and victims water and portable mobile phone chargers.
Thousands of attendees, mostly children and teenagers, were leaving the Ariana Grande concert and heading towards Victoria Station when the deadly explosion hit the foyer.
It is the worst terrorist attack in Britain since the London bombing on 7 July 2005 where 56 people were killed.
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Police are treating the Manchester suicide bombing as a terrorist attack and are investigating whether British born Abedi was acting alone or as part of a group.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.
Prime Minister Theresa May announced yesterday evening that the terror threat level in the UK has increased to “critical” and 5,000 military personnel will be deployed in key sites around the country in the coming days.
