British Muslims Fear Backlash

August 5, 2005

Source: Arab News

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=67976&d=5&m=8&y=2005

On August 5, 2005 Arab News reported, "'You filthy Muslim dogs. You will be torched this Friday. Many Muslim pigs will burn,' the hand-scrawled note reads. At a recently vandalized mosque in the east of Britain’s capital, a shocked 65-year-old Siddique Ali handles one example of hate mail targeting British Muslims following the deadly bomb attacks on London’s transport system on July 7. 'We are afraid,' said Ali, a member of the committee, which runs the mosque. 'These people are giving us warnings. But if they came in front of us we could give a reply or try to understand, but they are not coming.'

Attacks motivated by religious hatred have multiplied six-fold in London since the suicide attacks by four British Muslims which killed 52 commuters, and another wave of failed attacks two weeks later, according to police statistics.

Britain is home to 1.6 million Muslims, just under three percent of the population. The vast majority hail from the Indian subcontinent rather than the Middle East."