Stand Up To Racism send support to Northbrooks Mosque after arson attack
News / Mon 14th Aug 2023 at 03:16pm
STAND up to Racism Harlow wishes to send their solidarity to the community of Northbrooks Mosque following last week’s arson attack.
A spokesperson said: “We can only imagine how frightening and disturbing this must have been. If there is any practical way we can help please let us know.
We are concerned but sadly not surprised by the fact that police are treating the incident as racially aggravated.
It is just under 10 years since an arson attack on Harlow Islamic Centre for which no one has yet been brought to justice.
Such attacks are the consequence of a government that has regularly pushed racism since it took power.
Whether using Islamophobia to justify its disastrous interventions in the Middle East or the scapegoating of refugees to distract from its failings on the economy, racism has been its weapon of choice.
So we must all condemn racist incidents like the shameful attack on Northbooks mosque.
“But it is also incumbent on all of us to continue to challenge the poison coming from the top of society which fuels them”.
David Forman
2023-08-14 17:40:05
The Guardian reported in May on research conducted by Hope not Hate that showed government press briefings were feeding the far-right. The Guardian said: "An investigation shows that government statements and policy announcements on the issue are effectively “incubating” the far right on Telegram, the social media app where many rightwing extremists have congregated. Analysis by the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate of 660,000 Telegram messages sent between January 2021 and March 2023 reveal significant spikes in anti-migrant hostility in the aftermath of 164 government and ministerial interventions on the issue." See https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/21/uk-governments-anti-migrant-rhetoric-is-feeding-the-far-right-claims-campaign-group
David Forman
2023-08-14 17:44:24
Here is the link to the Hope not Hate report titled 'Stoking the Flames: The influence of press and government rhetoric on far-right anti-migrant engagement'. Download from https://hopenothate.org.uk/2023/05/21/stoking_the_flames/
James Leppard
2023-08-14 21:37:49
Interesting to note that the group in question criticises ill-judged military interventions in the Middle East but omits to mention that these were policies of the then Labour government of Tony Blair. Furthermore, to accuse the current government of stoking racism is as ingenuous as it is erroneous: have these people not seen that this Government is the most ethnically diverse in British history with the first Prime Minister of Asian ethnicity? It is certainly more diverse than the group depicted in this photo. To accuse this Government of fomenting racism is risible. The response of the Imam of mosque to this crime was certainly far more dignified than this attempt, driven by dubious motives, to piggy back on a terrible incident .
James Leppard
2023-08-14 21:38:59
Interesting to note that the group in question criticises ill-judged military interventions in the Middle East but omits to mention that these were policies of the then Labour government of Tony Blair. Furthermore, to accuse the current government of stoking racism is as ingenuous as it is erroneous: have these people not seen that this Government is the most ethnically diverse in British history with the first Prime Minister of Asian ethnicity? It is certainly more diverse than the group depicted in this photo. To accuse this Government of fomenting racism is risible. The response of the Imam of the mosque to this crime was certainly far more dignified than this attempt, driven by dubious motives, to piggy back on a terrible incident .
David Forman
2023-08-15 10:17:45
Research from Britain's Trades Union Congress has this evidence: "The reasons for the far right’s re-emergence are varied. However, one important factor has been the process of ‘mainstreaming’ that has legitimised and normalised far-right parties and ideas. This is not only a result of the far right rebranding itself for electoral purposes but also traditional centrist parties embracing radical right-wing rhetoric and policies for reasons of political expediency. It is through this process that far-right parties have become acceptable government coalition partners or been able to influence government policy on questions such as immigration." This research looks at Britain, the EU and further afield. See Executive Summary at https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-12/TUC%20Rise%20of%20the%20Far%20Right%20FINAL.pdf
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