UK to allocate $150mln to protect Muslim sites: Reports
4 Min Read
The United Kingdom has committed more than £117 million ($150.3 million) over four years to enhance the protection of Muslim sites, encompassing mosques, Muslim schools, and community centers.
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Pro-Palestine protesters walk down Regent Street as they take part in a "March For Palestine" in London on October 14, 2023, amid the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza. (AFP)
The United Kingdom is set to allocate over £117 million ($150.3 million) for the protection of Muslim sites across the nation over four years. This includes safeguarding mosques, Muslim schools, and community centers, as reported by The Independent newspaper, citing Home Secretary James Cleverly.
"We will not let events in the Middle East be used as an excuse to justify abuse against British Muslims," Cleverly was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The allocated funds will be utilized for the installation of CCTV cameras, alarms, and fencing, as per the report.
This comes as a recent survey showed that the frequency of Islamophobic events in the UK has increased dramatically in the wake of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, leaving Muslims anxious.
The research published in February by the British daily The Independent revealed that the majority of Islamophobic events targeted people for expressing support for Palestine.
A Muslim woman recalled being the target of a stone hurled at her window because she had a Palestinian flag hung there and that she "could have been killed" by it.
Another 17-year-old boy also stated that he was cornered by his professors after displaying a Palestinian insignia on his bag to school, which led him to experience a panic attack, which resulted in him failing an exam. His teachers interrogated him on his faith and his "understanding of Hamas."
In a related context, a 32-year-old doctor also reported on an "extremely traumatic" incident when a huge rock crashed through his Manchester house, which flew a Palestinian flag.
The doctor reported a substantial influence on his well-being, stating that he could not sleep and had to take two weeks off work.
Majid Iqbal, CEO of the Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU), an organization that assists victims of Islamophobia, reported a 365% rise in incidents of Islamophobia in October 2023, in the wake of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Iqbal warned that it was "clear" this was becoming a "long-term trend" with a deep impact.
He also urged journalists and politicians "not to demonize legitimate Palestinian activism and, by extension, British Muslims, to avoid contributing to the serious societal problem of Islamophobia."
Tell MAMA, which monitors anti-Muslim occurrences, also recorded 2,010 Islamophobic events between October 7 and February 7, more than double the 600 reported over the same period last year.
Observers also pointed out that Muslims, particularly women wearing hijab, have been ridiculed and abused on the streets.
UK Tories suspend MP from parliament party over Islamophobic remarks
Last month, Britain's ruling Conservatives suspended their former deputy chairman from the parliamentary party, after he refused to apologize for saying Islamists controlled London's Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Pressure had been growing on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Tories to act following lawmaker Lee Anderson's controversial remarks Friday, which have been widely condemned as racist and Islamophobic.
"Following his refusal to apologise for comments made yesterday, the chief whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP," a spokesperson for Tory lawmaker Simon Hart announced.
Hart's chief whip position makes him responsible for internal Conservative Party discipline.
On the right-wing GB News channel, Anderson claimed "Islamists" had "got control" of Khan, who was the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when first elected in London in 2016.
