anti-Muslim hate – Faith Matters https://www.faith-matters.org Working with Faith Communities Countering Extremism, Supporting Integration & Challenging Hatred. Founded by Fiyaz Mughal Thu, 13 Jan 2022 15:07:19 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/favicon.png anti-Muslim hate – Faith Matters https://www.faith-matters.org 32 32 95725945 Mohammed Saleem – Three Years Have Passed Since His Killing https://www.faith-matters.org/mohammed-saleem-three-years-have-passed-since-his-killing/ Fri, 29 Apr 2016 02:26:51 +0000 https://tellmamauk.org/?p=7762 On the 29th of April 2013, a grandfather and family man Mohammed Saleem, was returning back home after prayers at the local mosque. On his way home, he was targeted by the Ukrainian neo-Nazi sympathiser Pavlo Lapshyn, who subsequently killed the harmless grandfather, thereby robbing a family of the precious time they had with him.

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On the 29th of April 2013, a grandfather and family man Mohammed Saleem, was returning back home after prayers at the local mosque. On his way home, he was targeted by the Ukrainian neo-Nazi sympathiser Pavlo Lapshyn, who subsequently killed the harmless grandfather, thereby robbing a family of the precious time they had with him.

Three years have passed to the day since his killing by Lapshyn, who was convicted to a life term and with a minimum sentence of 40 years to be served. Lapshyn had also gone onto place explosive devices in 3 mosques in the West Midlands area with one of the devices spraying nails within the bounds of the Tipton mosque.

We were honoured to have Shazia Khan, (the daughter of the late Mohammed Saleem), to speak at our annual dinner in 2014. Details of her speech can be found here.  A second daughter, Maz Saleem, has gone on to become an anti-racist campaigner and gives talks up and down the country on the need to tackle racism and anti-Muslim prejudice.

Three years have passed since the murder and little is talked about regarding this targeted killing on the streets of Birmingham.

Next time someone says to you that anti-Muslim prejudice is not a reality, do mention the names of Mohammed Saleem and Mushin Ahmed. Their names deserve to be remembered and their families live with the loss every day. May their lives inspire us all to tackle hatred, racism and intolerance with a greater impetus.

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]]> 2519 Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA https://www.faith-matters.org/vacancy-caseworker-role-within-tell-mama-3/ Tue, 22 Mar 2016 15:58:38 +0000 https://i1.wp.com/tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Tell-MAMA-Redacted-logo.jpg?fit=300%2C74

Tell MAMA – Caseworker Post Vacancy Role Responsibilities The main roles and responsibilities of the Case Worker include: Assist callers into the Tell MAMA hotline and implement effective case management and recording systems, serving as first point of contact Offer a ‘listening ear’ for all callers and provide advice and signposting to further sources of

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Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMAVacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA

Tell MAMA – Caseworker Post Vacancy

Role Responsibilities

The main roles and responsibilities of the Case Worker include:

  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Assist callers into the Tell MAMA hotline and implement effective case management and recording systems, serving as first point of contact
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Offer a ‘listening ear’ for all callers and provide advice and signposting to further sources of support or justice where beyond the remit of the project
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Implement and adhere to strict data protection procedures in accordance with the Date Protection Act and organisational policy
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Review existing cases and ensure that they are actioned and closed.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Work together with the wider programme team to assist in the preparation of a variety of briefings, reports and research documents
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Work together with the wider team to prepare and deliver informative workshops and outreach sessions to build community awareness and confidence
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Maintain internal and external communications relative to the post including developing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and ensuring stakeholders are kept informed.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Work together with the wider team to assist in the development and implementation of training sessions for volunteers and other team members as required
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Periodically attend relevant training and development sessions and conferences.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Participate in team review sessions, one to one sessions and in audits that funding bodies may undertake.

In addition to any other duties as required.

Person Specification

Essential:

  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Excellent English communication (verbal and written) skills
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA At least 12 months’ experience in a similar role
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Understanding of and empathy with victims of crime
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Ability to sensitively provide services to beneficiaries with differing language, cultural and religious backgrounds within a multicultural environment.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Experience of liaising with statutory and non-statutory service providers on behalf of beneficiaries
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Ability to liaise with and work in partnership with other agencies, interpreters and volunteers
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Demonstrable commitment to equal opportunities and diversity
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Well organised with experience of working under pressure, prioritising workloads and meeting targets/deadlines.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Excellent IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office packages
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Ability to work on own initiative without supervision and the ability to work as team member.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Understanding of social media platforms

Desirable:

  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Fluency in a community language (e.g. Bengali, Punjabi, Hindi and/or Urdu)
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Experience of working with Muslim communities
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Experience within and understanding of the field of anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia

Terms and Salary

Hours:                                   Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Contract:                             12 months fixed-term contract (subject to extension)

Salary:                                   £25K (gross)

Location:                              London (occasional travel within the UK may be required)

How to Apply and Next Steps

To apply, please submit a CV and Covering Letter (outlining your interest in the role and the ways in which you meet the essential and any desirable skills, competencies and experience required) to info@tellmamauk.org by 31st March 2016

Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMAVacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA

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]]> 3613 Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA https://www.faith-matters.org/vacancy-caseworker-role-within-tell-mama/ Tue, 22 Mar 2016 15:58:38 +0000 https://i1.wp.com/tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Tell-MAMA-Redacted-logo.jpg

Tell MAMA – Caseworker Post Vacancy Role Responsibilities The main roles and responsibilities of the Case Worker include: Assist callers into the Tell MAMA hotline and implement effective case management and recording systems, serving as first point of contact Offer a ‘listening ear’ for all callers and provide advice and signposting to further sources of

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Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMAVacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA

Tell MAMA – Caseworker Post Vacancy

Role Responsibilities

The main roles and responsibilities of the Case Worker include:

  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Assist callers into the Tell MAMA hotline and implement effective case management and recording systems, serving as first point of contact
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Offer a ‘listening ear’ for all callers and provide advice and signposting to further sources of support or justice where beyond the remit of the project
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Implement and adhere to strict data protection procedures in accordance with the Date Protection Act and organisational policy
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Review existing cases and ensure that they are actioned and closed.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Work together with the wider programme team to assist in the preparation of a variety of briefings, reports and research documents
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Work together with the wider team to prepare and deliver informative workshops and outreach sessions to build community awareness and confidence
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Maintain internal and external communications relative to the post including developing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and ensuring stakeholders are kept informed.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Work together with the wider team to assist in the development and implementation of training sessions for volunteers and other team members as required
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Periodically attend relevant training and development sessions and conferences.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Participate in team review sessions, one to one sessions and in audits that funding bodies may undertake.

In addition to any other duties as required.

Person Specification

Essential:

  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Excellent English communication (verbal and written) skills
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA At least 12 months’ experience in a similar role
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Understanding of and empathy with victims of crime
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Ability to sensitively provide services to beneficiaries with differing language, cultural and religious backgrounds within a multicultural environment.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Experience of liaising with statutory and non-statutory service providers on behalf of beneficiaries
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Ability to liaise with and work in partnership with other agencies, interpreters and volunteers
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Demonstrable commitment to equal opportunities and diversity
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Well organised with experience of working under pressure, prioritising workloads and meeting targets/deadlines.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Excellent IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office packages
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Ability to work on own initiative without supervision and the ability to work as team member.
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Understanding of social media platforms

Desirable:

  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Fluency in a community language (e.g. Bengali, Punjabi, Hindi and/or Urdu)
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Experience of working with Muslim communities
  • Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA Experience within and understanding of the field of anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia

Terms and Salary

Hours:                                   Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Contract:                             12 months fixed-term contract (subject to extension)

Salary:                                   £25K (gross)

Location:                              London (occasional travel within the UK may be required)

How to Apply and Next Steps

To apply, please submit a CV and Covering Letter (outlining your interest in the role and the ways in which you meet the essential and any desirable skills, competencies and experience required) to info@tellmamauk.org by 31st March 2016

Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMAVacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA

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]]> 4853 Early Morning Assault in Birmingham Leaves Young Female Fearful https://www.faith-matters.org/early-morning-assault-in-birmingham-leaves-young-female-fearful-4/ Tue, 01 Dec 2015 12:36:04 +0000 https://i0.wp.com/tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Hijabi-Full-Abaya-Shortened.jpg

The Birmingham Mail  has reported a particularly vicious assault against a young Muslim female on the 23rd of November at 7:30 am. The Muslim teenager was apparently ‘punched in the face in broad daylight’ as she was walking along New Street and she feels that she was targeted because she wears the Hijab, and that her

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The Birmingham Mail  has reported a particularly vicious assault against a young Muslim female on the 23rd of November at 7:30 am. The Muslim teenager was apparently ‘punched in the face in broad daylight’ as she was walking along New Street and she feels that she was targeted because she wears the Hijab, and that her visibility made her a target for the assault.

The newspaper reported that the young female now feels scared to walk in the City centre and stated that:

” I was walking to the train station to meet some friends when someone shoved me from behind,” she told the Birmingham Mail.

“When I turned around he punched me in the face and then just went off.

“I was really upset afterwards. I can only think it was because he saw my hijab as he didn’t take my bag or anything.

“I’ve lived in Birmingham all my life and I’ve never experienced something like this before.”

The teenager also stated that her mother suggested she take off the Hijab and wear a hat and this is something that we have heard before from Muslim females.

We hope that individuals feel that they are able to report in such incidents and given the seriousness of this crime, it is right that the victim contacted the police.  Whilst such hate incidents of assault are rare, nonetheless, it is essential that perpetrators are brought to justice.

If you have been targeted for anti-Muslim prejudice, you can contact us on 0800 456 1226 or info@tellmamauk.org. You can also SMS us on 0115 707 0007 or tweet us @tellmamauk.

Early Morning Assault in Birmingham Leaves Young Female FearfulEarly Morning Assault in Birmingham Leaves Young Female Fearful

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]]> 5247 We Understand the Fears in Muslim Communities, But Our Country is Still One of the Safest https://www.faith-matters.org/we-understand-the-fears-in-muslim-communities-but-our-country-is-still-one-of-the-safest/ Mon, 19 Oct 2015 23:46:38 +0000 https://tellmamauk.org/?p=6613 It would be foolhardy to state that recent events of anti-Muslim abuse on buses in London have not had an impact on Muslim communities in the capital and beyond. They have and given the way that the material has been shared online, the comments and the videos of the abuse have sickened many who saw

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It would be foolhardy to state that recent events of anti-Muslim abuse on buses in London have not had an impact on Muslim communities in the capital and beyond. They have and given the way that the material has been shared online, the comments and the videos of the abuse have sickened many who saw the hate meted out by members of Black and Minority Ethnic communities against others.

One victim was a Turkish male who had a disability and whose walking frame was flung onto the pavement by the young perpetrator, as he walked off pushing his young child in front of him in a pushchair. The second victim was a Moroccan female with a Hijab (headscarf), who was visiting London and here to meet relatives in the capital. One only shudders to think about the kind of impression the female will have of our capital after the events of the last week, though we can take solace in the fact that our police acted decisively and quickly on both cases. Arrests were made and charges have followed.

Yet, given the sickening comments and levels of aggression shown, it is important to always contextualise the fact that we live in one of the safest capitals in the world. Compared to Europe, our country is streaks ahead in tackling racism and prejudice and in work around tackling hate crimes. Granted, there is a lot to be done, no-one can deny that and we are at the coal-face of the work, but when you compare it to some European Union countries who officially state that they have no hate crimes in their countries, you start to realise that we are lucky to live here on our tiny island.

We are also aware that there are some Muslim females who have contacted us to say that they are fearful of going outside of their homes to do their daily activities. To them we say this. By changing your daily lives, you are allowing the perpetrators to affect you and to control your lives and your activities. The only way to break cycles of abuse is to do the opposite to the fear that they bring on. In this instance, we urge individuals to get on with their daily lives and hold onto the fact that our capital is a beacon of hope, safety and security in this continent. Only be challenging our own private fears, can we truly realise our potential.

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]]> 1308 Response from Faith Matters to Counter-Extremism Measures Announced Today https://www.faith-matters.org/response-from-faith-matters-to-counter-extremism-measures-announced-today/ Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:48:22 +0000 https://faith-matters.org/?p=1296

The announcement from the Prime Minister regarding a raft of measures as part of the counter-extremism strategy primarily looks to disrupt extremist activities including the use of venues, the posting of extremist material and tougher measures on radio and television channels showing extremist content. These are a raft of measures that will be implemented in the coming months.

Whilst we acknowledge the real and ongoing threat to our nation and to our security, the work that Faith Matters undertakes through Tell MAMA has brought to the forefront, the issue of far right extremism and the impacts that it is having on Muslim communities. These measures must also be used robustly against far right groups that have consistently skirted around the law when promoting their extremism. Also, whilst we are aware that the threat of far right extremist groups is lower than that of groups like the so-called Islamic State, nonetheless, there are risks of lone wolf attacks against mosques and Muslim communities given the rhetoric and threats that we come across in Tell MAMA.

Faith Matters also acknowledges and commends the actions of this Government in tackling anti-Muslim hatred and the Prime Minister has listened to concerns within Muslim communities. We believe that together, collectively, we must all stand together against the scourge of extremism, though we must also support those who stand up publicly to denounce those who promote radicalisation and extremism. The Prime Minister has mentioned that the Government will actively support such individuals and we value and acknowledge this. 

Commenting on the counter-extremism policy initiatives, the Director of Faith Matters, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, stated:

“There is much here that can help in the battle against those who promote extremism and we must not forget that there is a real and ongoing threat from far right extremist groups and their activism should also be caught in these measures. The Government must also ensure that it does not alienate mainstream Muslim communities who are a solution to the problem of IS and Al Qaeda inspired extremism. Side by side with these measures, we must also tackle issues of integration, disaffection and social exclusion which also feed into creating excluded communities.”

]]> 1296 Anti-Muslim Bigotry – Caught on Camera https://www.faith-matters.org/anti-muslim-bigotry-caught-on-camera/ Thu, 15 Oct 2015 16:36:38 +0000 https://tellmamauk.org/?p=6594 If you thought that individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities did not get involved in bigotry – think again! This video has come to light of a woman from a BME community group who spouts anti-Muslim bigotry and which is overheard by individuals and families on this bus. It is a truly shocking

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If you thought that individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities did not get involved in bigotry – think again! This video has come to light of a woman from a BME community group who spouts anti-Muslim bigotry and which is overheard by individuals and families on this bus. It is a truly shocking incident and shows the worst of humanity.

We hear regularly about issues on public transport that lead to anti-Muslim bigotry being promoted, yet seeing this on camera still brings a chill to the viewer. The most depressing thing about such material is that the perpetrator has probably suffered bigotry and prejudice in her life at some time, yet she is now involved in promoting it against these women who wear the Islamic headscarf or Hijab. The full video can be viewed below.

 

 

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]]> 1273 We Welcome the Prime Minister’s Drive to Ensure All Forces Categorise Anti-Muslim Hate https://www.faith-matters.org/we-welcome-the-prime-ministers-drive-to-ensure-all-forces-categorise-anti-muslim-hate/ Tue, 13 Oct 2015 04:04:11 +0000 https://tellmamauk.org/?p=6573 It was in fact the Home Secretary who initiated this proposal just prior to the last general election and clearly, the momentum is growing within this administration. Tell MAMA warmly welcomes the lead now taken by the Prime Minister to ensure that all forces in England and Wales record anti-Muslim hate crimes and the Prime

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It was in fact the Home Secretary who initiated this proposal just prior to the last general election and clearly, the momentum is growing within this administration.

Tell MAMA warmly welcomes the lead now taken by the Prime Minister to ensure that all forces in England and Wales record anti-Muslim hate crimes and the Prime Minister is also leading the way in showing the importance of tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

For the last three and a half years, we have systematically supported victims of anti-Muslim hatred with over 4,500 people assisted. Hundreds of arrests have led from our work through police forces and we are the only national agency to have a data sharing ACPO protocol with all of the forces. This means we are working with information from self-referrals and from data that the police provide so we are the only agency getting a rich and varied picture of what is taking place nationally on anti-Muslim hatred. Yet, reaching this point has not been easy, as we have acknowledged previously.  There have been multiple barriers internally and externally to Muslim communities and it is clear that Muslim communities require and need a service that they can refer cases into and who understand the complexities and the nuances around anti-Muslim hatred. Many of them, particularly Muslim women, also need support, care and assistance after the traumas that they suffer.

Additionally, we acknowledge that there have been other organisations that have tried to tackle anti-Muslim hatred. They have been a part in the process, as we have, though over the last three and a half years, we have systematically and methodically made the case of the need to record, highlight and campaign on anti-Muslim hatred. We will continue to do so and the proposals from the Prime Minister will add to a collective effort to try and tackle anti-Muslim hatred at a national level. Muslim communities should welcome this decision since it will have far reaching and wider positive implications in the future around tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

As we move forward, we do so in the knowledge that our values and our work will positively add to this area of work around the monitoring and measurement of the scale of anti-Muslim prejudice in our country. In that journey, we hope that we are joined by like-minded organisations who see no national or international conspiracies against Muslim communities, and who only seek to tackle prejudice, hate and intolerance. We also hope that in that journey, Muslim communities, who add so much to this country, advise and guide us on that journey. There is much to learn, and even more to do.

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]]> 1266 “We Fear for Our Lives”: Offline and Online Experiences of Anti-Muslim Hostility https://www.faith-matters.org/1227/ Mon, 12 Oct 2015 09:08:16 +0000 https://faith-matters.org/?p=1227

We Fear For Our LivesThis report looks at the impact of on-line and off-line experiences of anti-Muslim hostility on British Muslims in the UK. It highlights how some male Muslims are failing to report in Institutional anti-Muslim prejudice for fear of being targeted and for fear that they will be seen to be ‘weak’ in the eyes of their families and lead to instability in their employment. It also highlights how key ‘trigger’ events such as the murder of Lee Rigby, the actions of the so-called Islamic State and the Rotherham grooming scandal, have led to multiple impacts within Muslim communities. It also re-affirms the link between racist language and anti-Muslim prejudice, with one female respondent saying, “actually, 9 out of 10 times, the abuse I receive is based on race. Although they use religion because I am identifiable as a Muslim woman, the words that come out of their mouth have to do with race, so the race and the religion are tied up together in people’s minds.”

Participants in the report talk about the disturbing nature of verbal and physical violence that they have suffered. A convert to Islam, Sophie (who wears the Hijab) stated, “a guy walked past, he spat at me and called me a ‘Muzzi’. Also, I’ve been called dirty Paki, (I am white), as a group of guys walked past and shouted ‘speak English in our country.’ I was looking at a map and did not say anything.”

Some participants also warned about the risks of radicalisation, especially for young people as a result of suffering online and/or offline anti-Muslim hate crimes. One respondent, Hamza, noted that “anti-Muslim hate crime has affected Muslims. This is why Muslims are going to Syria. This is why they support ISIS. When people experience Islamophobic abuse, they will be easily radicalised. They feel weak, lonely, isolated, and rejected from British society. This is when these hate preachers pick them up and brainwash them. If you are constantly victimised, you are weak.”

This report also highlights an impact on Muslim communities which is rarely discussed and which includes changes in dress style so that attention is not drawn to the visibility of their faith. The report highlights the issue of Muslims managing their Muslim identity on-line and off-line with the aim of reducing future abuse. It states that, “the reality of anti-Muslim hate crime creates ‘invisible’ boundaries, across which members of the Muslim community are not ‘welcome’ to step. The enactment of both virtual and physical boundaries impacts upon ‘emotional geographies’ in relation to the way in which Muslims perceive the spaces and places around and outside their communities of abode. Rather than risk the threat of being attacked, either off-line or on-line, many actual and potential victims opt to change their lifestyles and retreat to ‘their own’ communities.

]]> 1227 Equality Means Equality for All. Organisations are Either In or Out of this Sphere https://www.faith-matters.org/equality-means-equality-for-all-organisations-are-either-in-or-out-of-this-sphere/ Sun, 04 Oct 2015 14:04:25 +0000 https://tellmamauk.org/?p=6487 Nick Cohen highlights some of the issues that colleagues within Tell MAMA have been grappling with for some time. Apart from being the target of far right campaigns, Tell MAMA has also become the target of groups purporting to tackle Islamophobia, solely because Tell MAMA believes that equality means equality for all. Cohen mentions the following

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Nick Cohen highlights some of the issues that colleagues within Tell MAMA have been grappling with for some time. Apart from being the target of far right campaigns, Tell MAMA has also become the target of groups purporting to tackle Islamophobia, solely because Tell MAMA believes that equality means equality for all. Cohen mentions the following statement which was made by MEND’s Chief Executive, Sufyan Ismail in late 2014. He stated the following to a mainly Muslim audience:

“We don’t want the government to fob us off with some phony thing called Tell MAMA, which has got a pro-Zionist pretty much heading it, or in a very senior capacity, and is making all sorts of comments we might not agree with when it comes to homosexuality, to be recording Islamophobia.”

Not only are we independent of ‘the Government’, we have been running Tell MAMA to serve the needs of Muslims since 2012, without any form of ‘Government’ interference. Our independent service has assisted over 4,500 people and led to hundreds of arrests in order to ensure access to justice for victims of hate crimes who happen to be Muslim. Yet, our results, it seems, does not shield us from such statements or spin pieces that are thrown out into audiences.

Furthermore, when we set up Tell MAMA, it was on the basis of ensuring that anti-Muslim hatred was seen as one strand in the mainstream campaign against racism, prejudice and bigotry. Muslims are not a special case and nor should they be. British Muslims simply want equality and equality laws, policies and practices need to be applied evenly across the board. This is why we have been vocal when Muslims have been attacked because of their faith identity. This is why we have been vocal when some sections have tried to abuse Ahmaddiya Muslims. This is also why we have been vocal when some groups have tried to abuse gay or trans-Muslims. Equality needs to remain consistent and any group which picks and chooses when it wants to campaign against prejudice and when it chooses to keep quiet – (because the victims are from LGBT communities), is a group that has no moral courage, nor any ethical basis to it. Let’s be clear about that – they need to leave the campaigning space and reflect more clearly what they are about.

Coming onto the issue of ‘pro-Zionists’, this is a charge that is the most corrosive of all within Muslim audiences. We have worked with the Community Security Trust in setting up Tell MAMA and we are both independent organisations. We are proud of our ability to work with our Jewish brothers and sisters in the fight against prejudice and bigotry and that relationship remains unshakeable. When a Jew is attacked, we will stand with the community, as we will with others. With this in mind, we will stand with the CST in order to ensure that people are not targeted because they are Jews. When appropriate, we will also collectively campaign together against far right and other groups who target Jews or Muslims.

Over the last 12 months, we have had the great fortune of having Richard Benson act as a guide in advising us in Tell MAMA and in providing the moral courage and support when far right groups and others have targeted us. As the former CEO of the CST, Richard Benson built the organisation and placed antisemitism at the core of hate crime work within successive governments. His courage, as well as that of former Minister and Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik, have ensured that we have been led by the best in the field of tackling hate, prejudice and intolerance. These co-Chairs represent the best of a Muslim and Jewish working relationship and together with the Director of Tell MAMA, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, they have ensured that Tell MAMA has become the leader in the field of countering anti-Muslim hatred and which is making a direct and real difference to the lives of victims.

More recently, at a ministerial meeting, Richard Benson advocated that anti-Muslim hatred should receive the same attention that other hate crime strands do and has forcefully spoken out for Muslim women who suffer street based incidents. He has spent his time and effort standing up for what is right and has never in any meeting mentioned the Middle East. A consummate professional, he is an asset to any organisation and we are extremely lucky to have our co-Chairs at the helm of Tell MAMA. The statement from the CEO of MEND is therefore tiresome, inaccurate and an affront to those willing to do the right thing in countering prejudice, in this case, anti-Muslim hatred.

Lastly, on the issue of homosexuality, it is extremely depressing to hear the comments made by the CEO of MEND. Simply put, if any individual or organisation cannot stand up and openly challenge homophobia within some sections of Muslim communities, then what are they doing challenging other forms of prejudice, hate and bigotry? Whilst we also acknowledge that homophobia is also present in other faith groups and communities, we will never relent in challenging any bigotry and prejudice where we come across it. Only by doing so, do we know that our moral compass is still pointing in the right direction to tackle anti-Muslim prejudice.

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