The Luton Council of Faiths condemns in the strongest possible terms the violent attacks that took place in Edinburgh on Friday evening, which left five people injured and are being investigated by Counter Terrorism Policing as suspected anti-Muslim attacks. Our thoughts and prayers are with those injured, their families and the wider Muslim community affected by these disturbing events.
No person should be targeted because of their faith, ethnicity or background. Every member of our society has the right to live, work and worship in safety, free from fear, intimidation and hatred.
Violence of this nature does not occur in isolation. We continue to see concerning levels of anti-Muslim hatred and religiously motivated hate crime. Whilst people may hold different views on many issues, there can never be any justification for violence against individuals because of who they are or what they believe.
The recent Rape Gang Inquiry report by Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe has yet again hijacked the issue of British “grooming gangs” to demonise Muslims and immigrants.
“Lowe aims high but goes low”, stated Nick Lowles, the CEO of national Hope Not Hate charity. He said, “Lowe’s report is full of inaccuracies and fails to stand up to rigorous scrutiny. Unsurprisingly, he has allowed his rabid anti-immigration agenda to distort his argument. He has sacrificed validity and authority in favour of sensationalism. Facts are well-concealed amidst biased opinion, speculation, inappropriate extrapolation, false equivalence, meaningless correlations and tedious repetition. His agenda is primarily race, not rape.”
Since it’s launch in 2016, Luton-based Christian-Muslim charity ‘Faiths Against Child Sexual Exploitation’ (FACES) has developed multiple training and awareness courses to safeguard all children and young people from harm. It has always welcomed robust scrutiny of all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, but reject any narrative, especially those laced with racism & Islamophobia, that diverts attention from the young people at the heart of this crisis.
‘Scapegoating’ is not ‘Safeguarding’.
As a town that has spent decades building relationships across faiths and communities, Luton faith communities stand in solidarity with our Muslim neighbours and with all those who reject hatred and division
An attack on one community is an attack on all and also on the values that bind us all together.
At times such as these, our response must not be fear or further division, but unity, respect and a shared commitment to the dignity and safety of every person.
Yasar Hussain of Luton Central Mosque tying a prayer and a message to the ‘Tree of Hope’ outside St Mary’s Church in Luton