Ongoing Situation in the Middle East and Gaza is No Excuse for Antisemitism

November 14, 2018 Article

We know from the work of the Community Security Trust, that when there are times of conflict in the Middle East and in Gaza, that antisemitic discourse and incidents increase. Time and time again, this has been demonstrated to be the case.

We are aware that there has been a significant upsurge in hostilities in the region and with Palestinians and Israelis affected. Whilst we have no control over what happens in the Middle East, so we acknowledge that British Jews have no control or influence over the Middle East. They are simply bystanders who believe that they should be able to live without fear within our country and this is a right that everyone should enjoy.

We ask that we all remain vigilant against antisemitic and any forms of hate at this time. We owe our Jewish brothers and sisters the dignity and care at this time to ensure that they feel safe and secure as citizens and as people who form a core part of our local communities.

The post Ongoing Situation in the Middle East and Gaza is No Excuse for Antisemitism appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Gaza, Hate Crimes, Jewish communities, Middle East, Opinions

Home Secretary Needs to Be More Measured in His Messages – Grooming

October 20, 2018 Article

The Home Secretary’s statement (below), which highlighted ‘sick Asian paedophiles’, is something that should have been measured and not made on Twitter in a flippant manner. This also goes for a tweet response made by us agreeing with the need to challenge grooming and which has been used to promote a mobbing campaign against us by some, driven by community politics.

We have previously highlighted how the grooming issues have created a backlash against ordinary Muslims and whilst there is a collective need to challenge the behaviours of predatory men, there have also been much wider impacts in areas such as Rotherham. Many Muslim women in Rotherham have voiced their experiences of being targeted for anti-Muslim hate.

The language of the Home Secretary, contained with the following tweet, is not acceptable. Whilst we believe that the Home Secretary meant that ‘no no-go’ areas equated to a desire to discuss anything – the terminology can be misread as re-enforcing ‘Sharia no-go zones’, which is an anti-Muslim trope. Such a tweet is therefore extremely confusing and further exacerbated issues by the use of ‘sick Asian paedophiles’.

Nobody disagrees with the facts. There have been a number of cases that have involved South Asian males and these cases have been used by far right groups to target innocent Muslims. Let us also be mindful that grooming is an issue across all communities, with the highest percentage of groomers being white males. Which is why as the Home Secretary, his tweet comments should have been more measured, given the position he holds and given that individuals will be influenced by the Home Secretary’s comments.

The current atmosphere in our country is polarised. The last thing we need is language that can be misread, abused or used to fan the flames of division. We agree with much that the Home Secretary does on tackling hate crimes, including anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia, but on this matter, we disagree. We all need to ensure that communities feel accepted and respected at this time, whilst the victims of grooming should be first and foremost in our minds.

The post Home Secretary Needs to Be More Measured in His Messages – Grooming appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Asian, grooming, Grooming gangs, Home Secretary, News, Opinions

Opinion: Conspiracy Theories and the Pied Pipers of Hate

September 3, 2018 Article

The slide into a bizarre world of believing conspiracy theories and voicing openly toxic and bigoted views took place slowly over the last decade whilst many of us were not able to fathom how quickly and extensively social media had taken charge of our lives. As the Founder and previous Director of Tell MAMA, which supports victims of anti-Muslim hate, the world that I know of today, as someone reaching his fifties, is virtually unrecognisable to the one in which I worked just a decade ago and where there was real hope that levels of racism, prejudice and intolerance were finally on a downward slope.

Today’s world is also a far cry from that in which I grew up. As a refugee from Amin’s Uganda in 1972, and having fled a second time from Africa in 1983 because of military instability in Kenya, I suffered at first hand the openly racist abuse meted out to Asians and African-Caribbean communities in Kent where I was schooled. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, that open racism existed, flourished and led to the murder of young black men such as Stephen Lawrence. Such open hatred impacted on many young men and women from BME communities, though the economic boom of that period helped to also temper some of the racist anger and bigotry. Anti-racism work, equality marches and work-based equal opportunity schemes seem to have turned the tide against division that many of us assumed would mean a country more at ease with its diversity.

Whilst the UK is in a far better place than the ’80s, the reality is that, as a country, we have slid backwards towards openly aggressive far-right marches rallying thousands of people, national political instability and a rising sense of mistrust which is acutely felt between BME communities and the two main parties. This, mixed with a recent economic crisis, has created the perfect storm for social insecurity and it is this insecurity that some have played upon in fomenting divisive and openly hostile views toward groups of people in our society. It is also within this environment of insecurity that people have sought comfort within narratives of division that blame others and which provide a sense of meaning to them, however twisted that may be.

For such individuals, conspiracy theories become reality since the world around them is unstable and frightening. Grasping onto something almost tangible, that explains the complexity of life in a simplistic fashion, fills the void that many of us currently feel in an increasingly frightening world. This is why, for example, conspiracy merchants who peddle views of an ‘Islamic takeover’ or of hordes of Muslims outbreeding other communities, manage to find a receptive audience. With less money in people’s pockets, communities aggressively vying for resources in austerity, and a sense of confusion as to where we are heading as a nation, you can see how easy it is for people to believe that there are hidden factors at play. The culprits, in their opinion, are more than likely Muslims, Jews or migrants.

Both Muslims and Jews have felt a sharp rise in hostility towards them and hate crime figures show such a rise over the last five years. Much of this is due to hate online and, furthermore, since 2012, when I founded Tell MAMA, it was clear to me that social media companies would not remove hateful and criminal material, nor would they take down far-right, neo-Nazi or Islamist extremist accounts. Their business model was based on getting traction for their technological revolutions through more accounts opening up. In doing so, they helped create the fog and smoke of disinformation and gave an amplified voice to extremist groups masquerading as ‘free speech’ martyrs. These companies, whilst levelling the playing field for more voices to be heard, also exposed people to views and opinions that would have been marginalised for a reason. Yet their platforms also legitimised toxic views by placing those views into a worldwide market of ideas where extremist groups were better equipped to promote them.

Let me explain. Marginalised, divisive and racist groups by their very nature had to be far more energetic and driven to try to win supporters. Before the advent of social media these people had to host events, print leaflets and remain active at a street level. That all took time and money and, to make it worse, they also looked pretty scary. However, such groups were always driven; they had to be to survive.

Now post their divisive messages on social media with a ‘friendly face’, remove the racist insignia and blame migrants, Muslims and foreigners, and strangely there was a more receptive audience as people’s fears and insecurities rose over the last decade. Additionally, as many of us played catch-up to try to challenge extremist and divisive views, these individuals and groups already had a head start since they were naturally driven and could see the power of the new platforms. It was a toxic, heady mix that was to have a severe impact on our society, as we are now seeing today.

This is why we must mobilise and defend the social values we enjoy in our country, and which are under threat. It is not just those, as this paper has highlighted, who try and divide local communities, who we must challenge; it is also those beyond our shores, who support extremist groups and seek to destabilise our democracy by fomenting instability, whom we must remain vigilant against. If we take our eye off the ball in these crucial years, it is not only our values which may change – it could be our very understanding of reality. Now that truly is frightening.

The post Opinion: Conspiracy Theories and the Pied Pipers of Hate appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: anti-Muslim hate, conspiracy theories, democracy, division, hate, hatred, hostility, incitement to violence, instability, integration, intolerance, Islamism, marginalisation, News, offline, online, Opinions, prejudice

Tell MAMA Annual Report 2017: ‘Beyond the Incident’

August 31, 2018 Article

Beyond the Incident: Highest Number of Annual Reports Logged by Tell MAMA Since Launch in 2012

Director of Tell MAMA, Iman Atta OBE says, “We are in deeply worrying times where people are looking for certainty and what they are getting is instability at a political and societal level. This means that at times like this, minority groups are the ones who suffer the anger of those looking to vent their fears, insecurities and concerns.

“We are seeing more aggressive street-based incidents, younger perpetrators, between the ages of 13-18, increased vandalism and international interference by well organised social media accounts playing groups off in the UK. More than ever, we need to come together and redouble our efforts against those who seek to divide and play communities off against each other”.

Key Points

  • In 2017 Tell MAMA recorded a total of 1,330 reports. Of these reports, 1,201 were verified as being anti-Muslim or Islamophobic in nature and as having occurred in the UK between January and December 2017. More than two-thirds of verified incidents occurred offline, or on a street-level (70%, n=839), which represents a 30% rise in offline reports when compared to the previous reporting period (n=643). An offline, or street-level, incident means that the incident occurred in-person between a victim (or property) and a perpetrator. There were therefore more street incidents of anti-Muslim hatred reported into Tell MAMA.
  • Crimes or incidents that are classified as ‘online’ occurred on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, or on other Internet-based platforms, were verified as having happened within the UK, and account for a third of reports in 2017 (n=362), which represents a 16.3% rise in reports when compared with the previous year (n=311). This small rise can be partially attributed to the way in which ideologically-motivated accounts felt emboldened by major trigger events, (such as terrorist attacks) and broader Islamophobic discourses in the public sphere.
  • The ‘online hate’ figure, however, should be viewed as part of a wider trend in our data sets where there has been a marked shift towards more serious offline incidents such as physical attacks, threatening behaviour and abuse more generally, along with a growing awareness of Tell MAMA in Muslim communities, among key stakeholders, and partners, resulting in a greater willingness amongst victims and witnesses to report.
  • Tell MAMA has listed in its Annual Report examples of ‘Twitter bots’ that have sought to cause disruption and division in community perceptions and which have actively promoted anti-Muslim hatred. One such Twitter account was @DavidJo52951945 . Responses to the rhetoric on this account, called for violent action against Islamic institutions and on August 30th 2017, the Times reported that this bot originated from Russia. Furthermore, a Twitter account called @SouthLoneStar, which had amassed some 16,500 followers, was responsible in starting a global trend after the Westminster terrorist attack.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE.

For further information about Tell MAMA please click here.

The post Tell MAMA Annual Report 2017: ‘Beyond the Incident’ appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Annual Report, anti-Muslim hate, anti-Muslim hatred, far right extremism, hate crime, hate crime incidents, Islamism, Muslim women, Publications / Reports, Tell MAMA Annual Report 2017, Terrorist Attacks, veil

Tell MAMA’s Annual Report for 2017 Shows Highest Number of Anti-Muslim Incidents

July 22, 2018 Article

Beyond the Incident: Highest Number of Annual Reports Logged by Tell MAMA Since Launch in 2012

Director of Tell MAMA, Iman Atta OBE says, “we are in deeply worrying times where people are looking for certainty and what they are getting is instability at a political and societal level. This means that at times like this, minority groups are the ones who suffer the anger of those looking to vent their fears, insecurities and concerns.

“We are seeing more aggressive street-based incidents, younger perpetrators, between the ages of 13-18, increased vandalism and international interference by well organised social media accounts playing groups off in the UK. More than ever, we need to come together and redouble our efforts against those who seek to divide and play communities off against each other”.

Key Points

  • In 2017 Tell MAMA recorded a total of 1,330 reports. Of these reports, 1,201 were verified as being anti-Muslim or Islamophobic in nature and as having occurred in the UK between January and December 2017. More than two-thirds of verified incidents occurred offline, or on a street-level (70%, n=839), which represents a 30% rise in offline reports when compared to the previous reporting period (n=643). An offline, or street-level, incident means that the incident occurred in-person between a victim (or property) and a perpetrator. There were therefore more street incidents of anti-Muslim hatred reported into Tell MAMA.
  • Crimes or incidents that are classified as ‘online’ occurred on social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, or on other Internet-based platforms, were verified as having happened within the UK, and account for a third of reports in 2017 (n=362), which represents a 16.3% rise in reports when compared to the previous year (n=311). This small rise can be partially attributed to the way in which ideologically-motivated accounts felt emboldened by major trigger events, (such as terrorist attacks) and broader Islamophobic discourses in the public sphere.
  • The ‘online hate’ figure, however, should be viewed as part of a wider trend in our datasets where there has been a marked shift towards more serious offline incidents such as physical attacks, threatening behaviour and abuse more generally, along with a growing awareness of Tell MAMA in Muslim communities, among key stakeholders, and partners, resulting in a greater willingness amongst victims and witnesses to report.
  • Tell MAMA has listed in its annual report examples of ‘Twitter bots’ that have sought to cause disruption and division in community perceptions and which have actively promoted anti-Muslim hatred. One such Twitter account was @DavidJo52951945 . Responses to the rhetoric on this account, called for violent action against Islamic institutions and on August 30th 2017, the Times reported that this bot originated from Russia. Furthermore, a Twitter account called @SouthLoneStar, which had amassed some 16,500 followers, was responsible in starting a global trend after the Westminster terrorist attack.

The @SouthLoneStar account made several tweets about the terror attack on Westminster Bridge before sharing the photo of a Muslim woman walking across the bridge on a mobile phone, just after the vehicle had mown down pedestrians. It used the major hashtags (#PrayForLondon and #Westminster) to post tweets which described Islam as a ‘cult of death’ and added the #BanIslam hashtag. An earlier tweet called for Islam to be ‘outlawed’.[1] An archive of the @SouthLoneStar account in January 2017 revealed many pro-Trump tweets and how the account had followed a far-right account named @pepethetroll, which remains active on the platform.[2] Nor was the anti-Muslim content specific to the United States or even Britain. Further archive research of the account reveals that the @SouthLoneStar had attempted to stir-up anti-Muslim views in other European countries. For example, on 11 March 2017, @SouthLoneStar used the ‘#BanIslam’ and ‘#Rotterdam’ hashtags in a tweet which shared an image of about Muslim conquests and the Crusades.[3]

The Guardian reported that the @SouthLoneStar account was the “creation of the Internet Research Agency, a Russian “troll army” based in St Petersburg. This is where, in rooms of about 20 people working 12-hour shifts for pay of between 45,000 and 65,000 rubles a month (£575-£830), a modern disinformation campaign is crafted.” Whilst these are some examples of Twitter and social media accounts promoting direct anti-Muslim hatred, we need to maintain vigilance against foreign interference, in these cases, emanating from Russia, which seek to promote division and intolerance in the UK.

  • Social media agencies such as Twitter conduct a haphazard removal process for content. Our report highlights inaction from Twitter even on material that glorifies anti-Muslim hatred and violence against Muslims and Islamic institutions. Furthermore, Twitter’s inactivity in removing anti-Muslim hate material is deeply worrying and shows a wanton lack of desire to understand this hatred on its platform. Twitter has also demonstrated to us in Tell MAMA, its inability to stop individuals opening up new accounts repeatedly, when they have been banned from using the platform. In one case, a victim had to report in eleven separate accounts for harassment and with Twitter unable to stop the creation of new accounts and even dismissing reports on the same individual when multiple accounts linked to him were reported in through the ‘reporting in’ channels for Twitter.
  • In 2017, vandalism replaced threatening behaviour as the third most common anti-Muslim hate incident. There was a 56% increase in anti-Muslim vandalism when compared with 2016, with one in ten ‘real-world’ incidents being classed as vandalism. (The most widely reported anti-Muslim hate incident was classified as ‘abusive behaviour’ with the second most reported frequency of incident classed as a ‘physical attack’. This demonstrated a rise in physical intimidation and actions against Muslim faith institutions and property.) Discrimination was the fourth most common anti-Muslim incident reported to Tell MAMA in 2017, with a 77% increase in incidents when compared to 2016. This category included mistreatment, denial of opportunities or denial of services based on Islamophobic prejudice, some of which was institutional in nature.
  • Places of Anti-Muslim Hate Incidents: Consistent with previous years, the largest proportion of street-based incidents took place within public areas such as parks and shopping areas and the second most common place for incidents was public transport networks, such as trams, buses etc.
  • Gender Variances in Attacks: 2017 data showed that at a street level nearly 6 out of 10 victims of anti-Muslim hate were women and 8 in 10 of the perpetrators were male, re-affirming previous findings over the years, that anti-Muslim hate or Islamophobia at a street level is also male on female abuse in addition to anti-Muslim hatred and bigotry. 
  • Victim Ethnicity – Predominantly Asian females
  Victim gender  
Victim Ethnicity Female Male Unknown Total
Asian 201 178 0 379
Unknown 215 115 41 371
Arab or North African 42 32 3 77
White 41 7 0 48
Mixed or multiple ethnicities 19 18 0 37
Black 21 13 0 34
Somali 21 6 0 27
Turkish 2 1 0 3
Any other Ethnic Group 0 2 0 2
Total 562 372 44 978

10). Perpetrator Ethnicity – Predominantly white males

  Perpetrator Gender  
Perpetrator Ethnicity  Male Female Unknown Total
White 518 114 3 635
Unknown 167 57 210 434
Black 43 15 0 58
Asian 10 6 0 16
Mixed or multiple ethnicities 7 4 0 11
Any other ethnic group 3 2 0 5
Arab or North African 2 0 0 2
Total 750 198 213 1161

11). Victim and Perpetrator Age Ranges

Where age group data was available, the most common age for victims was 26-35.

The most common age for perpetrators was 13-18.

References

[1] Ibid.

[2] Texas Lone Star. Twitter post. 2016. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20170112123756/https://twitter.com/SouthLoneStar/ (retrieved 18/06/2018).

[3] Texas Lone Star. Twitter post. March 11 2017, 20:01. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20170112123756/https://twitter.com/SouthLoneStar/ (retrieved 18/06/2018).

 

The post Tell MAMA’s Annual Report for 2017 Shows Highest Number of Anti-Muslim Incidents appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Annual Report 2017, Islamophobic discourse, Muslim women, Muslim Young people, News, online hate, reports, Rise in Hate Crimes, Russia, Street Based hate crimes, Terrorist Attacks

Anti-Muslim Hatred Does Exist – We Are the Evidence

May 8, 2018 Article

‘Islamophobia’ has once again become part of the social debate and with comments that it does not exist. 

Within Tell MAMA, we have repeatedly cited the fact that we are not concerned about criticism of religion or faith. Islam, like any faith, can be criticised and vehemently disliked and this does not mean that those who carry these feelings and views will be inherently anti-Muslim in nature. It is the latter that interests us, though we also have to caveat the former statement by saying that some people who hold such views, may be anti-Muslim in their outlook and actions.

Tell MAMA does not use the term ‘Islamophobia’ and we look at the impacts on people, property, institutions and the mental, psychological and physical health of people. Therefore anti-Muslim hate is what we measure and reduce and ensure support for the victims of such hatred. Which brings us onto the following – anyone suggesting that anti-Muslim hatred does not exist is playing fast and loose with the facts. The facts are clearly listed in the series of reports that we have put together on the back of hard data and evidence from victims which can be found here, here and here. These are just a few examples of the numerous reports that we have put out. Collectively, we have documented over 6 years of material in this area of work.

We also note that our Founder was cited around his comments on anti-Semitism within some sections of Muslim communities. His comments reflect a need to challenge all forms of hatred wherever they are found. His work in setting up Tell MAMA, have led to his harassment and targeting for years, simply for pushing back against anti-Muslim hatred. We also note how a handful of individuals and organisations use the politics of division by citing the reference and by-passing the years of work done by Fiyaz Mughal in challenging anti-Muslim hatred head on and in ensuring that we can monitor and measure it, whilst supporting victims at point of need. 

The last thing victims of anti-Muslim hatred need are the politics of division, despair and cynicism. They need our support and our collective care.

The post Anti-Muslim Hatred Does Exist – We Are the Evidence appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: anti-Semitism, Opinions

Jackie Walker, if People Attending the Anti-Semitism Rally Are Anti-Muslim, What About Us?

April 10, 2018 Article

The Jewish Chronicle has written an article highlighting Jackie Walker’s comments in a 20 minute Facebook speech in which she attacked those attending the EnoughisEnough rally and stated that they were the,

“absolute enemies of Muslims, enemies of people of colour, enemies of our tolerant society.”

So, we have to ask, does Jackie Walker think that we are enemies of a tolerant society? Are we absolute enemies of Muslims when we have been working for over 6 years tackling anti-Muslim hate, instead of speaking to Facebook about challenging anti-Muslim hate, rather than challenging hate. Finally, many of the staff in Tell MAMA are people of colour and so how divisive is her language?

The fact is this. Where many members of a community feel the need to rally and demonstrate on an issue of key concern, we should be there. This is particularly the case when it involves something of central concern such as antisemitism. This is why the Tell MAMA staff and team attended the EnoughisEnough rally and why we felt the need to stand in solidarity. 

We also take umbrage with the assertion that those who attended the rally are the enemies of Muslims, as though people who stand against anti-Semitism, must be anti-Muslim. This is toxic talk and we have had people approach us with this ‘them and us’ world view. It has not been easy to differentiate, particularly early on in our work, though we have learnt that not everyone approaching us has positive social action in their minds. There are some who seek to ‘help Muslims’ with other objectives in mind. We don’t need their help as we do not need people like Jackie Walker speaking on behalf of Muslims. 

The post Jackie Walker, if People Attending the Anti-Semitism Rally Are Anti-Muslim, What About Us? appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: anti-Semitism, EnoughisEnough, Jackie Walker, Jewish communities, Muslim, News

Brentford Football Club Dissociates from Fanzine Football Magazine – Tell MAMA & Kick It Out Complain

April 1, 2018 Article

We were notified by a member of the public about the views of co-editors of the Brentford fanzine football magazine, called a ‘Thorne in the Side’. The fanzine magazine was run by Nick and Richard Hester. 

Having been notified about their tweets on their personal accounts, we got in touch with Brentford Football Club and we were notified of the following response by e-mail in the last week.

The club notified us that they had taken action and called in the Hesters. Correspondingly, in addition to the Tell MAMA complaint, Kick it Out had also made a complaint. A meeting was held between the Club and the Hesters, and as a result, the Club “withdrew both official recognition of the fanzine from the Brentford FC website and ceased so-operation in facilitating player and staff interviews.”

Subsequent meetings led to the Hesters notifying the club that they no longer intended to run the fanzine site, a ‘Thorne in the Side’. The Club also stated the following to Tell MAMA:

“That decision notwithstanding, the Club will be implementing a new code of practice governing fan engagement which includes a mandatory diversity education session with Kick It Out before any co-operation in providing players or staff for interview by the relevant fanzines or web-sites.”

This shows that join action does work and a huge thanks to the members of the public for notifying us of the comments by the Hesters. 

The post Brentford Football Club Dissociates from Fanzine Football Magazine – Tell MAMA & Kick It Out Complain appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: A Thorn in the Side, Brentford Football Club, Fanzine, football, Kick It Out, News, Nick Hester, Richard Hester

British Sikhs, Solidarity and the Network of Sikh Organisations

February 18, 2018 Article

It is with sadness that we read about the statement made by the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) about the support and solidarity that was being shown with Sikhs who are attacked because of their identity as Sikhs and because of racism. It is also clear that some Sikhs are attacked on the perception that they are Muslims, which does not detract from the fact that this creates fear within Sikh communities and impacts on families.

The reference made in the statement is to a project that took place 10 years ago – the Cohesive Communities project. The subsequent report is listed here and with clear references to explore issues of division between Sikh and Muslim communities and therefore deeply conflicting social narratives. These issues are even listed in the project overview and the Cohesive Communities report did not list some of the troubling discussions that took place which were confidential. The discussions caused facilitators to feel saddened that two communities with so much in common, were at polar opposites of the social divide.

We are also saddened to see that tweets that were made in 2012 and subsequently deleted are being used to create an atmosphere of mistrust at a time when communities need to work together and when the NSO statement itself suggests that a minority of participants were unhappy. Such difficult discussions around grooming, forced conversions, historical attacks against Sikhs by Muslim Indian rulers, amongst the many topics discussed at the Corrymeela Centre, are never easy and will bring out a range of emotions.

Given the Cohesive Communities report and what we heard, Faith Matters commissioned a further report to try and untangle and unpack the difficult narratives that were causing division. Hardly the act of an organisation that did not care or chose to reflect one communities’ perspectives. The Adab research report can be found here and details the narratives, history and perspectives coming from Sikh and Muslim communities.

However, we are glad to hear that the NSO (Network of Sikh Organisations) and partners in the Hindu community have a commitment to work with True Vision, which Tell MAMA has. Tell MAMA, which was founded by Faith Matters, has shown that its values are fundamentally based on inclusion and in supporting all communities who suffer hatred, prejudice and racism. Tell MAMA has also, on many occasions – stood against hatred against LGBT, Jewish, Shia and Ahmaddiya communities from a small number within Muslim communities showing that it will fearlessly stand for the rights of all communities and does not pick and choose on issues of human rights. Therefore, it is even more depressing to see that division is being called for at a time when Muslims, Sikhs, Jews and many other communities, should be working together. This on the basis of 4 individuals and on tweets made a decade ago on a project that explored some of the most difficult topics that were causing divisions between Sikhs and Muslims.

We within Faith Matters will continue to stand for the human rights of all communities to be protected. This means that when Sikh communities are attacked, their defence is our defence. When Sikh women or Gurdwaras are attacked, their honour and their integrity is our honour and integrity; and when young white girls in Rotherham are abused, their honour and their well-being is the responsibility of all communities, including ours. These are the core values of Faith Matters and what we stand on.

Finally, we have spoken to the Tell MAMA team and the round table was set up in solidarity with Sikh communities and was set up to share good practice. Support was also offered, though what was expressly stated was that it was for Sikh communities to find solutions within their communities to reduce hate crimes against Sikhs. This was expressly stated on a number of occasions at the meeting. Sadly, if the response for a call for solidarity is a call for division and separationism, then the only people who are strengthened by these actions are those who seek to divide and play off one community against another. In the end, protecting the dignity and safety of Sikhs means protecting the dignity and safety of us all as communities and people. We therefore continue to put out the hand of friendship to all communities and we will always do so. This also includes maintaining our openness to work with any group whose values are based on the defence of pluralism within communities.

The post British Sikhs, Solidarity and the Network of Sikh Organisations appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Ahmaddiya, anti-Semitism, British Sikhs, Corrymeela, Faith Matters, Network of Sikh Organisations, News, Opinions, Shia, Sikh Hate Crimes