Who tipped the scales in Britain’s violent incidents?
On Wednesday night, anti-racist mobs from across the north and south of England came out to reclaim our streets and cities from the far-right, who have terrorized British Muslims, people of color, refugees, and immigrants for eight days straight.
They managed to tip the scales and take control away from the politicians and media figures who have pushed the rhetoric of incitement to immigration and unleashed a hatred that is inappropriate for a country that prides itself on its multiculturalism. These activists feel a clear message: Britain is no one’s monopoly and our multi-ethnic neighborhoods will never be no-go areas for any member of society.
This mass force, which emerged at a critical moment, came in response to police warnings that the far-right was planning more than a hundred rallies across the country. They sought to sow chaos, not only through what they called “anti-immigration protests,” but also by targeting mosques, immigration law firms, and refugee and immigrant charities.
In the face of these threats, people who lived in fear of these attacks and acts of violence stood up to say: enough is enough. With this stance, the will of the people was in harmony with the response of the police, who arrested hundreds of rioters and charged many of them.
The massive presence of anti-racists on the streets was enough to terrorize the far-right thugs, and only a few of them appeared in the areas where they planned to spread violence.
After these clashes, it seemed that the race riots were over and those who took part in or incited them were beginning to feel the full force of the law, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer had promised.
As we celebrate this victory against racists and fascists and restore Britain’s multiracial identity, we must ask ourselves: how did we get to this point of far-right riots on our streets? How can we prevent these atrocities from happening again?
Many people see online misinformation as a major driver of these heinous acts. Content blaming Muslims and refugees for everything from the high cost of living to housing shortages to horrific crimes against children has played a significant role in driving the worst elements of society onto the streets.
But the truth known to British Muslims and other ethnic minorities is that this hatred is not new today. This is an old wound with roots going back decades. The children of working-class immigrants who helped rebuild Britain after the Second World War felt last week that they were facing the same discrimination and hatred as their parents did in the 1970s and 1980s.
History is repeating itself: women, the elderly anyone who appears to be an “immigrant” living in constant fear. They are told to stay at home and avoid certain areas, for fear of violence or even acid attacks.
Last week, we recalled that the hatred against Muslims that exploded after September 11, 2001, has not disappeared despite all efforts. This war, launched by the United States and its allies, including Britain, under the pretext of “fighting terrorism,” has caused misery for Muslim communities in the Middle East and deepened the wounds among Muslims living in the West.
Since then, anti-Muslim prejudice has become part of politics in much of Europe. Niqabs, hijabs, minarets, and even halal meat have been banned. Islamophobia has become accepted in political and media discourse, leading to the normalization of hatred against Muslim communities.
In the UK, there have been strong voices against Muslims and immigration, but there has always been a counter-effort to defend the multiculturalism that made Britain a great nation.
But in recent years, the anti-racist gains made since 9/11 have begun to crumble. Politicians and the media have returned to demonizing Muslims and presenting them as a threat to the future of the nation, particularly since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, when we saw a return to the dark days immediately after 9/11.
Marches demanding an end to genocide and the killing of civilians have been labeled as calls for “hate”, and British Muslims calling for an end to this violence have been accused of being “hate mongers”. It is this escalation that has led to the horrific outbreak of hatred we have seen over the past week.
But thanks to the efforts of anti-racists, the riots lasted only a week, even though they had been escalating for decades.
The situation has calmed down, and affected communities are trying to catch their breath. The question is: how can we stop this hatred from happening again?
The only way to ensure that race riots do not happen again is for the government to wage a serious war on far-right ideologies. The government must confront the far-right and its anti-Islamic bigotry head-on, and uphold the rights of asylum seekers and migrants, as set out in international law.
The government must clarify its position on Islamophobia. Unless the leaders of this country realize that hatred of Muslims and immigrants is a source of domestic terrorism and threatens the social fabric of British society, we will see more weeks of shame in the future.
The government must now thank the British people who stood up to the far right and take immediate action to ensure that their efforts are not in vain. Starmer and his government must champion multiculturalism and, at the same time, tackle the deep inequalities and injustices suffered by the UK’s multi-ethnic working class.
A failure to do so would amount to a capitulation to the far right and a betrayal of the values that make Britain a nation to be proud of.
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