The Muslim Council of Britain is calling on the government to properly fund mosque security. Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, will be writing to the Prime Minister highlighting the “palpable sense of fear” felt by Muslim communities after the New Zealand attacks and warns of the risk of copycat attacks in the UK.
The Prime Minister took commendable steps to increase security funding for Jewish institutions after the rise of anti-Semitic attacks, committing £14 million to support the security of approximately 400 synagogues and 150 Jewish schools (equivalent to £25k per institution).
The Muslim Council of Britain calls on the government to “demonstrate equivalent support to Muslim communities.”
The letter points out how hate crime against Muslims represents the majority of religiously based hate crime (52 per cent). Yet the Government’s fund for security of all other faith institutions is currently closed and had only distributed around £2.4 million over three years (equivalent to less than £500 per institution if only Muslim institutions are considered).
In his letter, Harun Khan states: “Open seven days a week, especially on Fridays, mosques across the UK are places servicing well-attended congregations. This makes the risk of copy-cat attacks here in the UK a real possibility, especially in a climate where we are now fully appreciating the growth in the far-right.”
“A long-term commitment to ensure Muslim communities are supported similarly to Jewish communities, is absolutely essential in these troubling times as we struggle with how we balance the necessity of security with our desire for continued openness.”
* Muslim Council of Britain https://mcb.org.uk/
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