#UNITEDAGAINSTH8 – TEN YEARS ON FROM 7/7
This series of infographics intends to capture the changing face of community relations a decade after 7/7. That tragic day captures how individuals from various faiths and nationalities died on a day that should have started like any other, with the humble commute to work.
Atique Sharifi, 24, the Afghan national to die, fled the murderous grasp of the Taliban to settle in Britain. His parents were killed by the Taliban when he was a teenager. He left his family in Afghanistan and arrived here in 2002 and was granted exceptional leave to stay.
Shahara Islam, 20, an ‘Eastender, a Londoner and British, but above all a true Muslim’ died aboard the number 30 bus, detonated by Hasib Hussain at the junction of Tavistock Square and Upper Woburn place.
Neetu Jain, 37, a Hindu, found herself with others on that ill-fated bus journey.
Giles Hart, 55, a humanist, was posthumously granted the Knights Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, for his services to democracy. Shelley Mather, 26, the only New Zealand national to die as did Sam Ly, 28, the only Australian national to die. We find other victims born in Poland, Sri Lanka, Romania, Turkey and France.
Miriam Hyman, 31, was Jewish, and she worked to increase understanding between Palestinians and Jews, amid other charitable ventures.
The 52 deaths on 7/7 reflect a multicultural, multinational and multifaith tragedy that impacts us all a decade later.
For the Muslim communities of Britain, the remarkable backlash dwarfs the spike that followed Lee Rigby’s murder.
The Prevent strategy sought to intervene in domestic Muslim communities to counter violent ideologies preached by a minority. But the controversies of the evolving policies are detailed in our ‘As Prevent Centralises, Community Engagement and Local Capacity To Implement Local Tailored Solutions Falls’ report.
Only by finding our pluralistic voice can we speak out and challenge the violent and bigoted forces that seek to divide. That is why, at Faith Matters, we call on you to stand with us and say #UnitedAgainstH8.