Qari Asim
There is no tolerance for violent extremism in Britain, be it of Islamist or far-right origin. So it is right that the Government yesterday responded swiftly to condemn the brutal van attack on Muslims in north London as an act of terror. It might be tempting, after three terrorist incidents in a month, to conclude that the national fabric is somehow fraying; that different communities and faiths are now increasingly and inevitably at odds. After all, extra police will now protect Muslims during Ramadan; meanwhile Jewish groups report a growing number of antisemitic incidents. Is Britain now a divided place, hostile to minorities, suspicious of difference?
The answer is emphatically that it is not. The actions of Mohammed Mahmoud, imam at a mosque near the attack, show the values that unite us. In its immediate aftermath, he intervened to prevent an enraged crowd potentially lynching the alleged attacker. This act of courage was important for two reasons. First, it prevented the kind of bloody revenge which serves only to inflame passions; secondly, it displayed a deep-seated belief that it is for the criminal justice system to determine guilt and punishment, and that we are all equal before that justice.
Nor should this attack be seized on by the unscrupulous to engender a sense of grievance among British Muslims. As Qari Asim, chief imam at Leeds’ Makkah mosque, notes below, Britain is not Islamophobic. Unlike many countries on continental Europe, we have not seen here a rise of extremist, avowedly intolerant politics. The British National Party, which in the 2010 election won more than half a million votes, managed a total of just 4,642 in the last general election, outscoring the Monster Raving Loony Party by a mere 752. Look at that scourge of years gone by: racism. It is on course to disappear if changing public attitudes are anything to go by. Opposition to inter-race marriages has collapsed. Younger people, the engine of the National Front in the Seventies, are today among the most disposed to turn their backs on bigotry – only around 10 per cent of the BNP’S nugatory support comes from 18-24 year olds.
Far from depressing, this is encouraging news. The trends are clear. That does not mean, however, that it is not vital constantly to defend either the values of tolerance that we hold dear, or the rule of law, which binds us all and punishes terrorists with equal force, whatever their race, colour or creed.