The U.K. Riots and the Myth of British Inclusivity
The country can’t face the realities of ongoing violence against minorities. British South Asians are tired of it.
It all began at a vigil in a British seaside town on July 30. While Southport was grieving the murder of three young girls, a Russian-linked news site and far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson circulated claims about the identity of the girls’ attacker. They said the person who had stabbed them was Muslim and had arrived in the U.K. on a “small boat” last year.
The next day, police shared the attacker was actually a 17-year-old born in Wales to Rwandan parents with no known links to Islam. But it was too late. Riled up blocs nonetheless hijacked the vigil. They injured 53 police officers, some with bricks, set a police van on fire, and smashed mosque and convenience store windows.
Over the last week, Britons have vandalized mosques, homes, cabs, shops, police stations, and local libraries. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a televised address on Monday, said: “I won’t shy away from calling it what it is…far-right thuggery.” The BBC has termed the violent outbreaks “anti-immigration demonstrations,” and The Daily Telegraph as “protests.” But to the targeted, this verbiage feels like a convenient way to miss the larger point.