Press release from the Muslim Council of Britain,
British Muslim Communities Unite to Develop Strategy Against Rising Islamophobia
26 November, 2024
British Muslim communities have come together on Saturday 23 November in an unprecedented gathering to address the alarming rise in anti-Muslim hatred following the devastating Post-Southport Attack Riots of Summer 2024.
The violence we saw in Summer 2024, triggered by Islamophobic disinformation and resulting in targeted attacks on mosques, Muslim communities and others across 27 towns and cities, represent a watershed moment that demands immediate and decisive action. These events occurred against a backdrop of increasingly emboldened far-right rhetoric, fuelled by the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency and the subsequent normalisation of anti-Muslim sentiment and racism more broadly in mainstream political discourse across the Western world.
The landmark National Islamophobia Strategy Meeting, convened by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), brought together community activists, organisations, grassroots representatives and academics from across the country to develop a unified response.
This critical initiative comes as Home Office statistics reveal nearly 40% of all religious hate crime being targeted at Muslims, in the year ending March 2024.
“The events of Summer 2024 have made it clear that we must move beyond words to decisive action,” said Zara Mohammed, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain. “Our communities face unprecedented challenges, but we are responding with unprecedented unity and determination.”
The meeting identified three key areas requiring immediate attention through dedicated taskforces [. . .]