Hundreds of anti-racists took to the streets throughout the north and south of England on Wednesday night, reclaiming our cities and cities again from the far-right rioters who’ve been terrorising British Muslims, individuals of color, refugees and migrants over the previous eight devastating days.
In doing so, anti-racists have additionally reclaimed the narrative again from the politicians and media operatives who’ve emboldened these violent racists with their inflammatory rhetoric on migration, making it clear that almost all in Britain doesn’t purchase into their hatemongering and that our multiracial neighbourhoods and communities are “no go zones” for the far-right.
This unprecedented present of power from the first rate individuals of Britain got here on the again of a warning from police that greater than 100 far-right gatherings have been deliberate throughout the nation on Wednesday. It was stated that the far proper, who’ve already been inflicting havoc throughout the nation in so-called “anti-immigration” demos for days, have been planning to assault the places of work of immigration legal professionals and refugee and migration charities in addition to mosques and group buildings.
Individuals who have been horrified by such assaults earlier, in addition to the widespread looting and violence towards law enforcement officials that accompanied them, stated sufficient is sufficient. Mixed with a decided response from the police (greater than 400 rioters have been arrested and a few 140 have already been charged) the presence of anti-racists and anti-fascists on the streets in giant numbers proved sufficient to intimidate the far-right thugs. Ultimately, in lots of localities the place such violent gatherings have been deliberate, solely a handful of far-right rioters confirmed up.
It appears the race riots are actually over, and people who participated in them and even inspired them from afar are beginning to really feel the “full power of the legislation”, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised.
Whereas this victory towards racists and fascists, this reclamation of Britain’s id, ought to undoubtedly be celebrated, there’s additionally an pressing have to ask: How did we find yourself with far-right riots on our streets, and what can we do to forestall the repeat of this atrocity?
Many in Britain have pointed to on-line disinformation because the supply of the far-right riots. Certainly, deceptive, inflammatory social media content material scapegoating Muslims and refugees for all that’s improper with the nation, from the rising price of dwelling to lack of housing and even heinous crimes towards kids, has performed an essential function in emboldening the worst in our society to take over our streets.
Nonetheless, British Muslims and people belonging to different ethnic minorities on this nation know for a indisputable fact that the hate that led to the occasions of this previous week is far older than social media.
These riots triggered outdated traumas in our communities that return not less than half a century.
Certainly, these of us who’re the kids of working-class migrants invited to Britain to rebuild the nation after World Struggle II really feel like we skilled first hand on this previous week the discrimination, hate and intimidation our dad and mom confronted on this nation within the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties.
Our dad and mom had informed us how elders, youths and ladies from our communities have been informed to remain house when far-right thugs have been out within the streets, on the lookout for targets, victims. Final week, that unhappy historical past repeated itself. There have been warnings for Muslim ladies and elders, and everybody else who occurs to look as if they might be Muslim or a “migrant”, to remain at house, to keep away from sure streets and neighbourhoods. We feared we may be harassed, crushed up, and even face acid assaults as we tried to go about our each day enterprise.
This previous week has additionally reminded us that the particularly potent anti-Muslim hate and bigotry that was unleashed within the aftermath of 9/11 didn’t go anyplace regardless of years of anti-racist efforts to curtail it.
After al-Qaeda’s assault on New York’s twin towers 25 years in the past, the US and its allies, together with the UK, launched into a so-called “conflict on terror”, unleashing unimaginable terror and struggling on Muslim communities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and throughout the Center East. Concurrently, Muslims additionally started to be demonised in political and widespread tradition, which absolutely normalised and mainstreamed anti-Muslim bigotry. This two-pronged marketing campaign of destruction and dehumanisation inevitably additionally had a profound impression on Muslims dwelling throughout the West, together with the UK.
Publish-9/11, in most of Europe, Islamophobia grew to become state coverage. States began banning the niqab, the hijab, the constructing of mosques and the decision to prayer. There have been a number of makes an attempt to ban halal meat throughout completely different international locations. For years, most mainstream media in Europe proudly disseminated Islamophobia, publishing with out consequence false tales and hysterical headlines to gasoline bigotry towards Muslim communities.
Within the UK, anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and anti-refugee voices in media and politics have been as loud as these on the continent, however there has all the time additionally been a widespread effort to defend multiculturalism and all of the communities, together with Muslims, that make Britain nice.
Up to now few years, nonetheless, there was a concerted effort to undo the anti-racist positive factors made in our nation since 9/11. The politicians and the media tried their greatest to demonise Muslims and baselessly current our communities as a risk to the way forward for our nation.
Particularly for the reason that starting of Israel’s conflict on Gaza, we’ve seen a return to the darkish days within the speedy aftermath of 9/11. The anti-genocide marches calling for peace and a ceasefire have been branded as “hate” and British Muslims demanding an finish to the killing have been branded as “hatemongers” by these in political energy in addition to in mainstream nationwide media.
All this led to the horrific explosion of hate we’ve seen on our streets prior to now week. Certainly, the race riots have been an inevitable consequence of all this – due to the efforts of anti-racists they lasted solely every week, however they have been a long time within the making.
Now that the far-right risk on our streets seems to have been quelled, affected communities are attempting to catch their breath and course of what they’ve skilled.
So how can we stop the repeat of this horrific explosion of hate towards Muslim and different minority communities?
The one approach to make sure the UK by no means sees such racist riots once more, the one approach that our communities can really feel absolutely protected and safe on this nation, is for the federal government to embark on a conflict towards harmful far-right ideologies.
The federal government should take the far proper and its Islamophobic bigotry head on, defend and uphold the internationally recognised rights of asylum seekers and migrants. It should create a brand new asylum and immigration system that’s aligned with worldwide legislation and respectful of the dignity and humanity of all individuals.
Additional, it should make its stance on Islamophobia clear.
Until the leaders of this nation recognise that hatred of Muslims, migrant and refugees is a supply of home terror, that it’s threatening the very cloth of British society, I’m sure that there shall be different weeks of disgrace on this nation’s future when minorities are informed to remain house for his or her security.
The federal government should now thank the British individuals who stopped the far proper in its tracks, and take speedy motion to make sure their efforts weren’t in useless.
Starmer and his cupboard should defend multiculturalism and concurrently take motion to deal with the deep-seated inequalities and injustices affecting the UK’s multiracial working courses that enable for far-right ideologies to take maintain in our nation. Anything can be capitulating to far-right extremists and handing energy to them over all our lives.
The views expressed on this article are the writer’s personal and don’t essentially replicate Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
