First of all, a Happy New Year and a thank you to all of our supporters and to those who have consistently reported in hate that has been targeted at Muslims. We have made some significant strides and we have been instrumental, through your reports, in working with police forces to ensure prosecutions. We have also been instrumental in disrupting Far Right hate networks with police forces.
We wanted to highlight an area that is sometimes troubling and which we must speak out about. We believe that harassment and trolling is not acceptable, even in the cause of countering hate. This is why we have stated this clearly on the front of our web-site. This means that continuously entering into dialogue with, intimidation and threats, be they through Twitter, SMS or other forms of communication should be condemned and in the strongest possible manner. This is irrespective of whether the actions taken are to counter any account that is promoting hate or anti-Muslim prejudice. We believe that there are simply no ‘ifs and buts’ on this matter.
We also want to stress that it is a New Year and we hope that some of our supporters who have entered into such activities, think and reflect on our position. We do not want to be associated with those who infringe on the law or who are involved in harassing others. It is as simple as that and when we find out that people are involved in any harassment, we will dissociate from those relationships.
Finally, neither TELL MAMA nor should my name be used in discussions or conversations between external parties. Any such use or abuse is not sanctioned, unwelcome and unwarranted. As stated before, if people come across hate, intolerance and bigotry against Muslim communities, do report the material into us. We will work through the relevant channels to seek redress. The TELL MAMA brand or staff names should never be used in personal conversations, whether on-line or off-line.
We therefore hope that this year means that we try to respect each other a bit more as people, residents and citizens. This is essential, rather than taking confrontational positions. However, this should not take away from our civic duty to tackle intolerance, hate and bigotry where we find it.
Fiyaz Mughal OBE – Director of the TELL MAMA national project