We were notified within the last hour of a Shia Centre in Bradford that has been targeted for anti-Muslim hate. The incident took place today and the statement that was tagged onto the walls of the Shia Islamic centre said, ‘Shia Kafir.’
The graffiti suggests that the Shia are unbelievers and such rhetoric is worrying, given that it forms the bedrock of thinking that drives extreme groups. For this statement to have been painted on the walls of a City like Bradford, is even more worrying, given that the City is one that generally is cohesive and where such incidents do not take place.
The targeting of this Shia Centre is also classed as an anti-Muslim hate incident and we have logged and recorded it as such. We will be keeping an eye on the developing situation, though we call on all individuals to reject and publicly speak out against the targeting of the Shia community. Furthermore, we hope that when this perpetrator is caught, that he will be charged with a religiously aggravated offence and we within TELL MAMA will be happy to speak to the court and support such a charge.
Shia centre in Bradford targeted earlier today in broad daylight @TellMamaUK @MustafaNajafi @Nadim_Nassar @aligokal pic.twitter.com/VsbvaEAxSj
— Mustafa Field (@mustafafield) June 21, 2015