British Muslims are expressing fear and concern following a surge in extremist propaganda that has led to violent riots. The recent unrest has created a climate of anxiety and insecurity within the Muslim community in the UK. The situation has been widely covered by Sairbeen on BBC Urdu, highlighting the impact of such violence on the community and the urgent need for peaceful resolutions and supportive measures.
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00:00There have been violent protests and riots in many small and big cities and towns of Britain this week.
00:08The government has blamed these protests on far-right organizations and people who are religiously inclined.
00:17I utterly condemn the far-right thuggery we've seen this weekend.
00:22The target of this violence was the Tariqin-e-Watan and especially the Muslims.
00:27South Asian and black farmers were terrified by the violence.
00:33We don't feel safe here.
00:36The fear is increasing.
00:38We are scared for our lives now.
00:41A Muslim community is being targeted without any evidence.
00:47In today's program, we will hear from those who were terrified by the violence
00:53and try to understand how it all started, why it happened and who did it.
00:58Will the South Asian and black farmer communities in Britain ever be able to overcome this fear?
01:09I am Javed Sumro and you are watching BBC Urdu's program, Sehr Been.
01:13The situation in Britain deteriorated when a man attacked a 6-9-year-old girl at a girls' dance camp in Southport, England.
01:25The man injured three girls, seven other girls and three adults.
01:31This incident caused a wave of grief in the country.
01:34The accused was arrested but since he was only 17 years old, the police did not identify him.
01:43But just a few hours after this incident was reported in the media,
01:47the people of the far-right movement started spreading rumors about the accused.
01:52Traditionally, the accused was accused of being an asylum seeker and illegal immigrants.
01:59Then, the name of a Siamese Muslim was made public as a murderer on social media.
02:06As a result, millions of people around the world started spreading this false image.
02:13In the midst of this spread, there were a lot of right-wing American influencers.
02:18And then, the rioters surrounded a mosque in Southport.
02:23The police protected the mosque and as a result, the rioters started attacking the police.
02:28The target of the rioters was not only the police but also local Muslims and other immigrants.
02:33As a result of these protests, the people of South Asia, especially Muslims, are feeling fear.
02:40And many of them had to face financial loss.
02:44Malik Umair runs a mobile phone shop in Liverpool City.
02:48The protesters looted his shop.
02:51We were about to close the shop when the shutter of the shop was closing.
02:57We were about to close the shop when the shutter of the shop was closing.
03:03They broke the shutter, the front glass of the shop and everything.
03:10They attacked us like zombies.
03:14How much did you lose?
03:19Around 70,000 rupees.
03:22We are facing a lot of financial loss.
03:27Did the police help you during this incident?
03:35The police came to us every hour.
03:38Two or three policemen came to us and asked if there was any problem.
03:43The mosque police supported us a lot.
03:47What impact has this incident had on you and your family?
03:51It's like we are in a trauma.
03:55It's a shock.
03:57It's a very scary environment.
04:01My daughter is not able to sleep.
04:03My wife says that once the situation gets better, we will send her back.
04:08The nursery is also nearby.
04:11But Mubtala Umair is not alone in this fear.
04:14When we come here to work, we come to a secure place.
04:20But if these things happen in these places, we will be afraid.
04:25We will think whether to go to work or not.
04:28If this is not stopped and allowed to continue,
04:32then there is no doubt that it will have a huge impact on Asian,
04:38Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi communities.
04:42It will be difficult to live here.
04:44There is fear everywhere.
04:46We also feel that our families and we are not safe.
04:50The biggest fear is that the targets against Muslims are being highlighted.
05:00But this is not the case.
05:02We have to be more careful in our daily activities.
05:07For example, we have to use public transport.
05:10We can't go late at night because there are attacks.
05:13The protests are violent.
05:15The question is how did the far-right organize these protests?
05:20In an attempt to find the answer,
05:22it was found that there was no organization or force behind these protests.
05:27Instead, many influencers used social media and online groups
05:32to incite people to participate in these protests.
05:36These protests started in Southport,
05:40Hartlepool, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford, Eldershot,
05:44Liverpool, Belfast and London.
05:48The Merseyside Police has named Stephen Yoxley Lennon,
05:56who is famous by the name of Tommy Robinson.
05:59Immigrants, especially the Muslim opposition,
06:02are the leaders of the English Defence League, EDL.
06:06Although EDL no longer exists,
06:09its leaders now spread their message through social media
06:13and there are a large number of followers.
06:17The history of far-right organizations in the UK is old.
06:20Let's understand it.
06:22The protests that took place in 2011 were limited to one city.
06:27These protests are taking place all over the country.
06:30Their motive and ideology is based on generationalism.
06:37This time, not just one community is being targeted.
06:41All the colourful people are being targeted.
06:44They are being targeted.
06:46One more thing I wanted to ask you.
06:48The government and especially the Merseyside Police
06:53said that EDL was behind these protests.
06:57Can you tell us the background of EDL?
07:00The people involved in these protests deny the existence of EDL.
07:06EDL is no longer an organization.
07:10But the generationalism and hatred created by these people,
07:15the English Defence League,
07:17based on generationalism,
07:19has been rekindled in these people.
07:23Have you spoken to any of these protesters?
07:27What do they want?
07:28I have spoken to a lot of protesters.
07:30Most of them wanted the borders to be closed.
07:35Migrants should be sent back to their countries.
07:40They should be placed on boats.
07:44They should be sent back to their parents.
07:48These people are creating chaos here.
07:51Their claim is that these people are disturbing.
07:55They are taking away our jobs.
07:57A friend and influencer of Yaxley Lennon on social media platform X,
08:02who posts in the name of Lord Simon,
08:05was the first person to openly protest on a national level.
08:10His account spread the lie that the person involved in the Southport incident
08:15is an asylum seeker who boarded a boat and entered the UK illegally.
08:21This person's video was viewed more than 10 lakh times.
08:25Later, the judge of the Southport court allowed the accused to be identified.
08:31It was found that his name is Axel Maganoa Rodakobana
08:35and his parents were Rwandan Christians.
08:38The accused himself was born in the UK.
08:41Even after this fact was revealed,
08:44far-right leaders continued their statements against Muslims and immigrants.
08:49It is difficult to say who was the first to call for protest.
08:54But many such influencers have a clear pattern.
08:59They spread lies about the identity of the person involved in the murder of girls
09:04and asked people to leave the streets.
09:07These false claims spread and had such an impact
09:11that those people also left the streets
09:14who had nothing to do with far-right ideologies, extremists or extremist groups.
09:19People of the far-right used the Telegram app a lot
09:23because they were in danger of being banned on Twitter or X for some time.
09:29But since Elon Musk bought Twitter,
09:32not only the accounts of Donald Trump and Tommy Robinson were exposed,
09:36but other far-right groups and people were also exposed.
09:40Elon Musk himself also promoted negative and false statements.
09:44On Telegram, another old far-right group, National Front,
09:48also appeared suddenly
09:50and announced a demonstration in the alley of Southport
09:54where an old mosque is built.
09:57Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok
10:00started posting and spreading such posters everywhere
10:03in which people were invited to participate in the protests.
10:06Similarly, another group, Patriotic Alternative,
10:10started calling for protests after the Southport incident
10:14and as a result, the wave of these extremist protests spread.
10:19The police did a lot of evil to deal with the rioters
10:23and Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the riot a far-right mischief.
10:33This weekend, be in no doubt,
10:36those that have participated in this violence
10:39will face the full force of the law.
10:43The government has started a strict investigation against the rioters
10:47and more than 400 people have been arrested so far.
10:50The Prosecution Service is sending cases to the courts very quickly
10:55and many people have been sentenced.
10:58At the same time, the government has asked the police
11:02to be ready to deal with the rioters.
11:05The government may be able to deal with the rioters
11:08but the issue of immigration does not seem to be going anywhere.
11:11The opinion polls clearly show that a large number of people
11:15are concerned about both legal and illegal immigration.
11:19According to a survey conducted in February in the UK,
11:23the current population of immigrants is more than 52%.
11:27Two years ago, this opinion was of 42%.
11:3069% of people were not satisfied with the government's decision on immigration
11:35whereas in 2020, only 41% were satisfied.
11:40In some areas, such as Middlesbrough,
11:43where extremist protests have taken place,
11:46the number of crimes is much higher than the country's crime rate.
11:50Due to the increasing number of cases in the courts and the police,
11:54people feel that the police and the courts are not doing their job properly.
11:59Interestingly, the perception of the reality is completely opposite.
12:06The reality of the UK today is that the number of crimes here
12:10is much less than a generation ago.
12:13According to the National Institute of Statistics of the UK,
12:17the number of crimes in the UK and Wales in 1995 is only 20% today.
12:24The statistics show that the number of crimes has not increased due to migration.
12:29In fact, people have been negatively affected by the wrong and false statements
12:34related to crimes and migration.
12:37But it is not that the majority of people in the UK
12:40think in favour of these riots or are extremely right-wing.
12:48It makes me feel very upset that we are so intolerant as a nation.
12:53I wouldn't even call that protests.
12:56I would just call that devastation and vandalism really.
12:59I actually think the people rioting are probably puppets
13:03of people who want to stir up trouble.
13:06Immigration is crucial to any environment to build it,
13:09to affect and implement change in all the things
13:12that we as people that live in a country and consume enjoy.
13:16In the UK, the debate on immigration is in its place.
13:19But the vast majority of people are against the extremely right-wing,
13:23extremist wars.
13:25After the announcement of the far-right protests,
13:29this majority of people have announced to protest separately
13:32in favour of immigrants and against Islamophobia and genocide.
13:35A show of unity and a show of love against hate.
13:41In which tens of thousands of people marched
13:44against the far-right in many cities across the country.
13:47The far-right groups were unsuccessful in demonstrating.
13:51But the police were ready for the situation.
13:54Apparently, the situation will calm down in a few days.
13:58But the minorities living in the UK,
14:01whose mental and psychological wounds have been healed,
14:04may take time to heal.