We raised the risk of further community tensions in Rotherham yesterday as far right groups agitated about the recent grooming abuse in the area. We also raised anti-Muslim abuse that was taking place in Rotherham and which we listed here.
Today, it seems that far right groups turned up and fought between themselves whilst marching through Rotherham. Yet, we have seen from other far right marches that such demos have targeted individuals thought to be Muslims and further agitation has included shouting out ‘Allah is a paedo.’ These terms were used before the Rotherham grooming crisis and were a means of eliciting a reaction from Muslim communities.
The example below of a broken mosque door shows the real impact of when such hooligans march through towns. This picture was sent in and shows a vandalised mosque window. The real impact of such groups is that they are a menace to all communities.
The best way to tackle grooming is for the signals to be picked up, individuals feeling more confident to report the abuse in and for agencies to work with young people and take their reports seriously. It does not need thugs menacing the streets of any city in our country. It is as simple as that.
Picture of mosque circulated on Twitter by @zebmustefa and @eduhueh