A survivors' group says such language fuels anti-Muslim sentiments in the UK.
Dozens of survivors of “terrorist” attacks have urged politicians to stop equating British Muslims with “extremism”.
In an open letter published on Saturday, a group of 58 survivors said such language would fuel anti-Muslim sentiments in the UK and said using it was the “height of irresponsibility”.
Signatories included survivors of several “terrorist” attacks in the United Kingdom, such as the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing and the July 7, 2005 attack in London, and survivors of attacks in other countries.
“To defeat this threat, the most important thing we can do is isolate extremists and terrorists from the vast majority of British Muslims who deplore such violence,” said the letter, published by the advocacy group Survivors Against Terror.
“[But] “In recent weeks there have been too many cases where politicians and others have failed to do this, in some cases equating being Muslim with being an extremist, facilitating anti-Muslim hate or failing to challenge it,” the letter added.
Our open letter from our members affected by Islamist extremism: “To defeat this threat, the most important thing we can do is isolate extremists and terrorists from the vast majority of British Muslims who deplore such violence.
— Survivors Against Terrorism (@survivors_a_t) March 10, 2024
Saturday's warning came after Conservative MP Lee Anderson was suspended in late February after refusing to apologize for comments claiming London mayor Sadiq Khan and Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer were “controlled by Islamists.”
Separately, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote in a February 22 op-ed in The Telegraph that “Islamists are bullying Britain into submission” and that “Islamist crackpots and Islamist extremists left” had influence “in our judiciary, our legal profession and our universities.”
Growing anti-Muslim sentiments
Reports of anti-Muslim incidents have increased since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, according to Tell MAMA, which monitors hate crimes targeting Muslims.
The group said it recorded more than 2,000 anti-Muslim cases in the four months after the Gaza war broke out, 335 percent more than those recorded in the same period a year earlier.
Most cases occurred online, but Tell MAMA also recorded cases of physical attacks, abusive behavior, threats and acts of vandalism. The highest number of incidents (576 cases) was recorded in London.
An estimated four million Muslims reside in the United Kingdom, making up about 6.5 percent of the population, according to the Muslim Council of Great Britain. Most live in Birmingham, Bradford, London and Manchester.
