After the massacre of New Zealand .. Fatima fear in the streets of Britain

Al Jazeera Net - London

With feelings of sadness over the victims of the New Zealand mosque massacre and concern for herself and her family, British Muslim Fatima Humayet tells Al Jazeera Net about her fears whenever she remembers this brutal attack in that remote country.

The veiled Muslim says she has become involuntarily hurt every time she walks alone in the street. After the New Zealand massacre, she tried to convince her father not to go to the mosque and pray at home for fear of him.

But she ends up saying that these feelings are abnormal and should get rid of this state of panic, because the cycle of fear is what the terrorists want to bring the Muslims into, and should not be given this "victory" and the normal life " , And believe that racists are a minority and that most of British society is open and receptive to the other.

While Fatima was speaking to Al Jazeera Net, British police announced the arrest of two people suspected of links to attacks on five mosques in Birmingham, and was investigating them against the background of what they were subjected to these mosques on Wednesday evening.

Following the terrorist attack on worshipers in mosques in New Zealand, British Muslims, through their various unions, called on British police to protect their mosques. They believed that the government's promises to increase funding for the protection of mosques were inadequate. Muslims are racist crimes targeting the whole society, not just the Muslim minority.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Mohammed Kazbar, vice president of the Islamic Association of Britain, said that their demands focused on protecting the religious, cultural and educational institutions of Muslims, like the rest of the minorities. This is a message of reassurance to the community, in addition to fighting the right wing extremism and countering messages of hatred and Islamophobia against the community, Leading to an incident in Britain such as New Zealand terrorist incident.

Do not fear
On the fears of Fatima, who may withdraw on many Muslims in Britain and the whole of Europe shocked by this unprecedented incident, he said that there is no doubt that one of the objectives of the terrorist to broadcast his attack directly through social media, is to intimidate the Muslim communities in the West and send A message to them that they will not feel safe even in their places of worship.

But according to Kuzbar, the terrorist failed miserably. This was evidenced by the rise in the number of Muslims who attended Friday prayers after the incident and that their numbers doubled in the rest of the prayers.

"Many mosques have tightened security to send a reassuring message," he said. "There is also contact with the authorities to do their duty to protect their Muslim citizens like all other citizens."

Rise in hostility to Muslims
The vice president of the Muslim League concluded by pointing out that the incident comes after the rise of Islamophobia in the world in a frightening manner. After the extreme right has risen in the West and became the first target of the attack on the Muslim communities, and comes after unprecedented campaigns by the media in general and some politicians in West, and all these factors helped in his opinion of the massacre in New Zealand.

In 2018, more than 1,200 hate-inspired attacks were recorded, up 26% over the previous year, according to official figures.

The opposition Labor Party on Wednesday adopted a new definition of Islamophobia, which states that it is "a racist practice aimed at those who express Islamic attitudes or who are considered Islamic."

The move came after an open letter signed by more than 100 Islamic institutions, Muslim public figures and members of Parliament called on all British parties to adopt a clear definition of the term.