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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/06/al-rahma-centre-fire-muswell-hill
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| The al-Rahma centre fire: Britain won't let hatred win | The al-Rahma centre fire: Britain won't let hatred win |
| (4 months later) | |
| The burning down of the al-Rahma Islamic Centre in Muswell Hill is a devastating blow for the local community. But the ripple effects of this are being felt around our country, especially among Muslims. A centre serving as a mosque, meeting place and school for young children has been destroyed. But for the grace of God, this fire could have been during the early morning Fajr congregation prayers. The fear now is that it might be repeated elsewhere. While we all hope the centre will rise like a phoenix from the flames in double-quick time, we can't dismiss the fear that many of our fellow citizens feel. | The burning down of the al-Rahma Islamic Centre in Muswell Hill is a devastating blow for the local community. But the ripple effects of this are being felt around our country, especially among Muslims. A centre serving as a mosque, meeting place and school for young children has been destroyed. But for the grace of God, this fire could have been during the early morning Fajr congregation prayers. The fear now is that it might be repeated elsewhere. While we all hope the centre will rise like a phoenix from the flames in double-quick time, we can't dismiss the fear that many of our fellow citizens feel. |
| There are credible suggestions that this was arson, with police treating the fire as suspicious and some concluding it is an act of Islamophobia. My advice is that we must all retain cool heads, and not respond rashly. Our emergency services are doing a sterling job, and what the police need is time to piece together what has happened. I urge all with information to come forward and help the authorities to establish the cause of this fire. | There are credible suggestions that this was arson, with police treating the fire as suspicious and some concluding it is an act of Islamophobia. My advice is that we must all retain cool heads, and not respond rashly. Our emergency services are doing a sterling job, and what the police need is time to piece together what has happened. I urge all with information to come forward and help the authorities to establish the cause of this fire. |
| But there is some justification for jumpiness in the days since the murder of Lee Rigby. Attempts by the EDL and the BNP to capitalise on what happened in Woolwich by demonstrating in London and elsewhere have, in turn, been met with counter demonstrations by Unite Against Fascism and others. | But there is some justification for jumpiness in the days since the murder of Lee Rigby. Attempts by the EDL and the BNP to capitalise on what happened in Woolwich by demonstrating in London and elsewhere have, in turn, been met with counter demonstrations by Unite Against Fascism and others. |
| Community, religious and political leaders are united in standing up against those promoting hatred and division since Woolwich. I am impressed at the unanimity across faiths – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and others – and across political divides. I saw this solidarity last Friday in Woolwich, when worshippers at the local mosque, the Greenwich Islamic Centre, joined with community and faith leaders to pay tribute to this young man. A strong message has been sent that the murder of Lee Rigby is an utterly reprehensible act. London, and beyond, simply won't allow those seeking to stir up division on the back of it to succeed. Even Lee Rigby's family, at this most tragic of times, said he would not want people to use his name as an excuse to carry out attacks against others. | Community, religious and political leaders are united in standing up against those promoting hatred and division since Woolwich. I am impressed at the unanimity across faiths – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and others – and across political divides. I saw this solidarity last Friday in Woolwich, when worshippers at the local mosque, the Greenwich Islamic Centre, joined with community and faith leaders to pay tribute to this young man. A strong message has been sent that the murder of Lee Rigby is an utterly reprehensible act. London, and beyond, simply won't allow those seeking to stir up division on the back of it to succeed. Even Lee Rigby's family, at this most tragic of times, said he would not want people to use his name as an excuse to carry out attacks against others. |
| However, the fact is there has been a rise in reported anti-Muslim incidents in the days after Woolwich. Tell Mama, an agency that records them, reported a sharp increase in the number of incidents since the killing of Lee Rigby. But even in difficult times, the best of British has shone through. Few can fail to be lifted by the "custard cream diplomacy" of the mosque in York that invited in EDL members to discuss their concerns over tea and football. | However, the fact is there has been a rise in reported anti-Muslim incidents in the days after Woolwich. Tell Mama, an agency that records them, reported a sharp increase in the number of incidents since the killing of Lee Rigby. But even in difficult times, the best of British has shone through. Few can fail to be lifted by the "custard cream diplomacy" of the mosque in York that invited in EDL members to discuss their concerns over tea and football. |
| We should all feel uncomfortable that there is a need for organisations like Tell Mama – which is one of many British organisations that perform a crucial role in standing firm against Islamophobia – but the successful blueprint in this area is the Community Security Trust which, for almost 20 years, has excelled in providing advice and support to Britain's Jewish community on how to deal with antisemitism. Tell Mama rightly emulates the CST's work, and the experiences of the past fortnight show their role is as important as ever. | We should all feel uncomfortable that there is a need for organisations like Tell Mama – which is one of many British organisations that perform a crucial role in standing firm against Islamophobia – but the successful blueprint in this area is the Community Security Trust which, for almost 20 years, has excelled in providing advice and support to Britain's Jewish community on how to deal with antisemitism. Tell Mama rightly emulates the CST's work, and the experiences of the past fortnight show their role is as important as ever. |
| The UK has some of the best protections in law for religious groups in the world. They aren't perfect, but they provide a strong basis for religious groups to be free from fear of discrimination. I'm proud of this, because it underpins what is decent about our country. It sends out a strong signal we are tolerant and respectful of faith groups, and that we won't put up with discrimination of any form, religious or otherwise. This should be a real source of strength, and something in these challenging days and weeks we must not forget. | The UK has some of the best protections in law for religious groups in the world. They aren't perfect, but they provide a strong basis for religious groups to be free from fear of discrimination. I'm proud of this, because it underpins what is decent about our country. It sends out a strong signal we are tolerant and respectful of faith groups, and that we won't put up with discrimination of any form, religious or otherwise. This should be a real source of strength, and something in these challenging days and weeks we must not forget. |
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