The “B” word continues its reign of terror. Across the pond, the tally thus far:
- One serious injury
- One gurudwara in Kent set on fire
- Three attacks on mosques in east London and Bristol
- Four arson attacks on mosques (Leeds, Belvedere, Telford and Birkenhead)
- 19 windows smashed at the mosque in east London
- Bottles thrown at the windows of a gurudwara in south London
- Arson in Southall, reported at the home of an Asian family
Then there was the poor Asian woman from Middlesex who, on the day of the bombings, recognized the unmistakable scent of petroleum while “liquid” dripped down her door. Remind me to add “attempted arson” to the bullet points above.
Commander Brian Paddick, a senior spokesperson for the police had this to say:
“We have had a number of incidents of hate crime, racially and religiously motivated offences, and we take these types of offences very, very seriously,” he told reporters.
So the good guys are on the case. But whose case are they on? When I first posted about vandalized mosques and gurudwaras, a fast and furious comment thread decayed in to race-baiting madness. The flames have been put out, but a remaining comment makes me shake my head.
We don’t actually know that the gurudwara attack was fomented by white people, do we? For all we know it could have been Hindus, but this board is full of remarks about British and American skinheads, etc., which simply assume the racial identity of the evil-doers.
Right. Except I don’t have to assume Jack when I repeatedly read facts like this:
The same day, five white men were arrested after bottles were thrown at the windows of a gurdwara in south London.
Maybe they were white Hindus. One can never be sure. Look, it’s the hatred, stupid. I don’t give a rodent’s posterior who is committing these atrocious crimes against houses of worship and homes of innocents; everyone who is guilty of this misguided vigilantism sucks. This blog see no color and we don’t go out of our way to bash “the man”. We do, however, go out of our way to bash any man who bashes us or our peeps.
:+:
The Sikh community requested “greater protection” from the police after a gurudwara was torched on Friday. The Muslim Council of Great Britain reported that Muslims, especially those who live or work in London, felt “fear and apprehension”.
I respect the actions that the Police are taking, from “reassurance patrols” in affected areas to President of the Association of Chief Police Officers Chris Fox worrying out loud that “low-level” incidents weren’t being reported.
“We encourage everyone to report this type of obnoxious and dangerous behaviour, from whatever quarter, for full police investigation because we are determined there will be a very robust enforcement response to it.
Fox’s words ring so true to me:
“It is absolutely crucial that there should be no reaction against any section of the community. That would simply play into the hands of the murderers,” he said.
In other words, be a true loyalist to your country; don’t hurt the innocent and make a mockery of the principles that created your nation’s greatness in the first place.
i always wonder whether the perpetrators of this type of violence are simply run-of-the-mill drunks and general troublemakers who seize the opportunity to give their destructive urges some sort of justification, if only a illogical, despicable justification. the media-ready nature of these stories sometimes trick me into thinking these type of acts are the result of some sort of organized, religious/political groups. but it’s probably just a bunch of lunkheads just out from the pub and looking for something to do with the rest of their miserable, lowlife night.
To take gimmefiction’s though a bit further, is this rate of attacks against Sikhs and Muslims higher than the normal rate for Britain?
Also, will this cause a backlash against white youths? I hope not, because, we must realize that these are the actions of extremists and the majority of white youths are law-abiding citizens.
Ran across this tidbit just now on a UK bill to outlaw what the Telegraph calls “stirring up religious hatred.” As far as knee-jerk reactions to national security incidents go, they seem to be doing better than U.S. politicians so far 🙂
To take gimmefiction’s though a bit further, is this rate of attacks against Sikhs and Muslims higher than the normal rate for Britain?
I read a few articles that it is. Here’s a quote from one.
Would Manish’s “Meet Talibert” post be allowed under the new UK law against “stirring up racial hatred”?
As far as the increase in backlash, obviously the crimes are inexcusable, but I would wait for the investigation to complete as jihadists are trained in and known to falsely report discrimination.
but I would wait for the investigation to complete as jihadists are trained in and known to falsely report discrimination.
One gurudwara in Kent set on fire Bottles thrown at the windows of a gurudwara in south London A Pakistani man was killed in a suspected racial attack in the central English city of Nottingham.
Indeed, the Jihadists are being deceptive now by killing themselves and repoting false fires at Guruduwaras.
Al Mujahid,
I clearly said “jihadists reporting false discrimination”: (1) Jihadists have nothing to do with gurudwaras. (2) Are you claiming this Pakistani man was a jihadist?
I really don’t understand how those three incidents relate to what I said.
Furthermore, concerning the Pakistani man that was killed, you say it was a “suspected racial attack”. Can’t we just wait for the facts? Is every mugging, purse-snatching, car jacking where a racial or gender epithet used a hate crime?
One would think that it would be good news to hear that some of these reports of heinous crimes are false or attributed to greed not hate. Would that not be a good thing?
Hello all. I’m new here, but I just thought I’d briefly say one thing.
Here in the UK attacks on mosques & gurdwaras are not THAT uncommon. But I do sometimes feel that the vernacular used by the media is inflammatory. Indeed the word I just used, ‘attack’, often paints the wrong picture. Sometimes they’re a plastic bottle chucked through an open door, spitting, a stone through a window or a rude word scribbled in marker pen. Very rarely are they more serious.
Thus I echo some of the people on here – that one shouldn’t immediately assume that attacks the very next day are related to the bombings. Sometimes shit just happens. I hate to sound arrogant (I don’t really), but I do genuinely believe that there are very few, if any, Brits that would mistake a Sikh for a Muslim.
The bombings in London affected me very personally and believe me I understand what motivates ‘the B word’, but I really don’t think Asians have too much to fear in the UK.
However I DO think the tutting and dirty looks will increase. Has increased.
With the belief being widely circulated that the planners/executors of this attack in London are British-born, I shudder to think of what reactionary, Union Jack-waving, craziness may come from the political right as the feelings of grief continue to simmer. Perhaps Viet Dinh will be getting a call for his notes from the writing of the Patriot Act.
Then all the brit-rednecks will start taking holiday to Crawford TX, chewing Kodiak, and saying things like “these colours don’t run…”
Those Kashmiris are so fair and lovely and chamkile 😉
Maybe it’s the Hare Krishnas?
brit-rednecks will start taking holiday to Crawford TX
Eventually ALL THINGS BAD are traced back to President Bush. It is some kind of new law of liberal physics.
Begin degeneration of conversation.
whatever backwater place I chose to pick on, somebody would jump all over my ass for ragging their beautiful home town. GWB had minimal to do with the butt of my joke, other than the fact that you know what I mean.
As opposed to if I’d said Big Bone Lick, KY…
oh dear, now I’ll get flamed to death for hating on BBL!
Homegrown suicide bombers – the worst case scenario for any country. One should pray the backlash is limited to graffitti and broken windows.
A cultural revolution among sections of British muslims MUST occur, for all our safety.
Disillusionment isn’t uncommon for second generation youth, as I’m sure has been said here before. It seems to be whether or not the outlets for voicing or acting out this disillusionment are creative or destructive. In the United States, where a culture of me-first’ism, comfort, isolationism, and sloth has taken over the mainstream, kids act out on the disillusionment by playing mailbox baseball, drugs, petty crime, and other things.
Abroad, where the twin opiates of the internet and television have not gained as strong a foothold as in the United States, there is more anger about world events and trends, more direct contact with direct action and violence, and more of a likelihood that young people would be lured into the violent fringe.
I don’t think that religious fervor, a misguided attempt to tip the scales of global justice, or anarchist visions of peace through chaos are what drive many of these folks, at the second generation and middle class levels.
I don’t think that this is an ideological pandemic, but I do think that alternatives and interventions should be planned to make sure that more youth aren’t dragged into this scenario.
Apparently the first murder victim of the backlash in England is a 48 year old Pakistani man.
A few days after 9/11, Balbir Singh Sodi was murdered in Arizona. Now, Mr Butt of Nottingham died less than a week after the London bombings.
Guys (and gals),
From a real fan of all ( or most of) what is American, especially the tradition of free speech and thought, just a couple of observations from a Brit contributor.
Don’t believe all you read in the press (regarding hateful attitudes expressed towards muslims, or the story of the supposed murder of a muslim guy after the bombings). Come to the UK and see for yourself
Not all those who aspire to the saying “These Colours don’t run, are rednecks, (British or otherwise). They do however seek to show to those who would destroy the very freedoms that allow them to live amongst us, that they will not succeed. Winston Churchill defied the might of the Nazis in 1939 with simlar words, put (perhaps) more eloquently, (but they wouldn’t fit on a t-shirt!).
I hope you were all able to see, or participate, in the two minutes silence at noon today. If you were, or see news broadcasts about it, you will see that this country, black, white, asian, our friends from around the globe who were with us today, all joined in showing that we are a united nation. Yes, we have our tensions, and problems, but we are a family, capable and determined to rise to the challenge of overcoming those challenges, and demonstrating to the world (and particularly those who delude themselves into thinking otherwise) that all faiths can (and must) live in harmony.
Sorry for the soapbox speech, but I’m just a really ordinary guy, feeling that we are an extraordianry people. (Not a long obscure rant, I hope)
Regards,
John