We received the following report of an attack on Shia gravestones in the Pleasington Cemetery in Blackburn. The desecration of Shia gravestones in a cemetery where other Muslim headstones were not touched, shows anti-Shia hatred, which is an indicator of sectarian extremism.
Anti-Shia sectarian hate cases have been recorded by Tell MAMA since 2013 and form a small but consistent pattern of intra-Muslim hatred and we have also picked up anti-Ahmaddiya targeted hatred over the last 3 years. In this instance, the desecration of headstones relating to Shia individuals who have passed away, should set of alarm bells that the perpetrator may well be consuming material that is extreme in nature.
We will continue to monitor this situation and if you come across any such sectarian intra-Muslim hatred, please do not hesitate to report it into us at Tell MAMA.