Hina Bokhari OBE, London Assembly Member for Liberal Democrats
One year after the Southport riots, the “squalid chapter” unfolding in British history is not immigration, as the Prime Minister would have us believe. Instead, it is the record levels of racism that millions of British Muslims now routinely face.
The statistics are damning, the hatred all too commonplace, and the fear all too real. Online, I’ve been told I’m an immigrant who doesn’t belong. At London Bridge station, I was told to go home. At a street surgery, I was told “all Muslims should be killed.”
Such incidents are now an everyday occurrence for Muslims across the UK—whether in our NHS, schools or transport systems—and they are rising fast.
Following the horrific attack in Southport last year, the simmering Islamophobic hate that has long been an undercurrent in British society erupted into plain sight. Anyone perceived to be “other”, whether Muslims, Black Britons, immigrants, or asylum seekers, became a target.
Since then, rather than taking action to defuse the crisis, the Prime Minister has poured fuel on the fire, using rhetoric against immigrants which further legitimises attacks against us.
Meanwhile Reform, GB News and media outlets, from the Telegraph to the Evening Standard, platform toxic myths and conspiracy theories, where Muslims are portrayed as dangerous terrorists or predators and scapegoated for complex societal problems.
It is little wonder the situation remains so volatile. Just recently, following the outbreak of mob violence in Epping, Nigel Farage gleefully warned of “civil disobedience on a vast scale”.
This is not leadership, it is incitement, and it is just not being challenged by most political leaders. That’s why I’m so proud to be part of the Liberal Democrats – a party that is determined to stand up to Reform in defending a diverse, multicultural Britain. And we are taking Islamophobia seriously – the Liberal Democrats were in fact the first to adopt the APPG definition of Islamophobia.
But we need leaders across all parties to do the same – including the Mayor of London. As the most prominent Muslim politician in Britain, Sadiq Khan understands the threat all too well. Abuse against him personally has doubled since last summer alone.
In the London Assembly, I’ve been pushing him to do more – not because he is Muslim, but because he is the Mayor for all Londoners and he has promised to make our city a “bastion against hate.” But words alone are not enough. That’s why I’m calling for mandatory Islamophobia training across London’s public institutions. If our services can’t recognise anti-Muslim hate, they can’t protect those targeted by it.
One year on from Southport, British Muslims don’t need sympathy. We need safety, dignity, and the right to live in peace in our own country. The only question is whether our leaders will act, or will it take yet more violence before we finally face up to the reality that Britain has an Islamophobia problem – and to millions of us, it is a very serious threat indeed.
(Photo archive The Muslim News)
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