Anti-Islam slogans were spray-painted at a building near mosque and cultural center in South London, the Metropolitan police informed.
Locals called Metropolitan police on Wednesday to remove spray-painted slogans from the building at North Brixton Islamic Cultural Centre.
A statement from the Met said, “Officers were called at around 1100hrs on 1 January to reports of anti-Islamic slogans spray-painted on a building near to the North Brixton Islamic Centre in Brixton Road. Inquiries are ongoing at this time as part of a full investigation.
Disgusted to hear that Islamophobic slogans have been spray painted near the North Brixton Islamic Centre. @metpoliceuk are working with Lambeth Council to have them removed, but let me be clear: all prejudice is cowardly and criminals will face the full force of the law.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) January 1, 2020
“We are working alongside Lambeth council to ensure the offensive remarks are removed as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, a swarm of condemnations poured in from officials on the Islamophobic incident. The dignitaries denounced hate and vouched for tolerance and peaceful cohesion between communities in London.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed disgust on the incident. Adding that,’@metpoliceuk is working with Lambeth Council to have them removed, but let me be clear: all prejudice is cowardly and criminals will face the full force of the law,’ in a tweet.
Read more: Are We Children of a lesser God: PM Imran Khan, UNGA
Council Mohammad Seedat, Lambeth’s cabinet member for community safety, said: “Many of our residents fear they are living in a hostile environment. The intimidating racist graffiti on synagogues and mosques won’t divide Londoners but will confirm the worst fears of many of our residents.
He expressed confidence in the council and police that will work to sustain peace and tolerance in society. Seedat urged politicians and the government to quell the rise of extremism of any sort in the society.
Rise in Islamophobia in UK
Researchers and analysts have claimed that hate crimes against Muslims have spiked in recent months following the Christchurch Mosque shooting. The statistics issued last year confirmed that Islamophobia is thriving in the UK and anti-Muslim sentiments, permeating every institution in the country.
The statistics published last year showed that people continued to view Muslims distinctly from other religious groups with 18% of people having contemptuous views on Islam. A whopping 44% of the UK’s population still views Islam as a threat to the British way of life and only 32% believed that Islam and the British way of life are compatible.
The reports stated that 41% of people who think that Islam is a threat to the British way of life is associated with the ban on freedom of speech. They asserted that “Islam breeds intolerance for free speech and calls for violent actions against those who mock, criticize or depict the religion in ways they believe are offensive”.
Read more: British media declared major contributor to Islamophobia
Additionally, 31% see Islam as a threat to the British way of life because they believed that “Islam seeks to replace British law with Sharia law”.
The anti-Mulsim prejudices are held by people who disagree with the mass influx of immigrants and dislike multiculturalism.
PM Khan’s speech on Islamophobia
Prime Minister Imran Khan had addressed this misconception of the western society in his maiden speech at the United Nations General Assembly session. He explained the global community of the veneration of the Holy Prophet for the Muslims and why they emotionally react to the satirical content on Holy Prophet Muhammad.
He added that it was very difficult for the west to understand this and narrated a story that when he went to the UK he saw comedy movies on the life of Jesus Christ. He said that Holy Prophet Muhammad is very close to the heart of Muslims and ridiculing him is unbearable for Muslims. He gave the analogy of the Jews and the pain Holocaust evokes, and the sensitivity west has towards it.