The government has allocated over £117 million to safeguard mosques, Muslim schools, and community centers from hate attacks over the next four years.
Home Secretary James Cleverly emphasized that this funding, which will be utilized for installing CCTV cameras, alarms, and fencing, aims to provide reassurance and confidence to UK Muslims. This initiative follows a £70 million package dedicated to Jewish groups, prompted by concerns over escalating divisions in the UK due to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
The government strongly denounced the recent surge in reported anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish hatred and reiterated its commitment to fully investigating all hate crimes in collaboration with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Mr. Cleverly underscored, "Anti-Muslim hatred has absolutely no place in our society. We will not allow events in the Middle East to serve as a justification for abuse against British Muslims." He further affirmed the government's solidarity with Muslims in the UK and highlighted the crucial importance of this funding to provide much-needed reassurance and confidence.
This funding forms part of a comprehensive support package aimed at ensuring that any form of anti-Muslim abuse, threats, or harassment will not be tolerated. However, plans to announce a new adviser on tackling anti-Muslim hate faced setbacks when the intended candidate withdrew due to the severe abuse he had endured.
Fiyaz Mughal, founder of the anti-Muslim hate monitoring organization Tell MAMA, disclosed that he had faced over a decade of abuse for his work. The announcement of his association with the adviser role led to an escalation in abuse, prompting his withdrawal.
The £117 million allocation for the next four years follows a previous £29.4 million provision for 2023-24.
This announcement coincides with the start of Ramadan and is intended to cover community sites across the UK. The funding allocation is larger than that provided to the Community Security Trust for Jewish facilities, reflecting the higher Muslim population and the greater number of sites requiring coverage.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat emphasized that this funding underscores the government's staunch opposition to hate crimes, abuse, threats, or harassment against British Muslims. The government remains committed to working closely with policing and community partners to ensure the safety and security of British Muslims. Photo by Fred Romero from Paris, France, Wikimedia commons.