The recent knife attack by Hadi Alodid in Belfast has led to a spate of attacks against asylum seekers and ethnic minorities in the City. In the last 72 hours, police and security forces in Belfast have had to intervene and remove from their homes the families of people targeted because of their race and ethnicity. The Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn, has also called the mindless violence ‘racism’ for its targeting of ethnic minority residents in Belfast.
Tell MAMA has received an uptick in reports over the last 48 hours from British Muslims living in England and Northern Ireland and we have repeatedly said that what happens internationally is usually felt within 24-48 hours in the United Kingdom. We have measured the same reactions on numerous occasions and we recognise the pattern of upticks and the rises in anti-Muslim hate that are reported to us because of local, regional, national or international events.
We are highlighting this as our teams continue to receive reports and with anti-Muslim comments made to victims that link back to ‘Ireland’ or to ‘Belfast’ or to ‘killers’ and other such terms. The context of these reports are extremely important and we continue to monitor the situation and to work with relevant police forces on an ongoing basis.
Read More: Intimidation in Northern Ireland Towards Muslims is Deeply Worrying