Solidarity in the face of extremism

In response to the rising Islamophobia, the by-product of increasing extremism and the recent Brussels attacks, Prime Minister David Cameron speaking at an Easter reception at Downing Street said:

“This is the great fight that we have to join. Our brothers and sisters who are Muslims, they want our assistance. We should be reaching out and wanting to help them battle against extremism.”

This is an important statement for the Prime Minister to make to the Christian communities as in the aftermath of most terrorist attacks all eyes turn to Muslim communities for their immediate condemnation. Even when Muslims condemn terrorists it is not seen as enough, as if the entire religion is to blame for a radical faction. Hatred of innocent Muslims is dangerous for UK society.

According to the Guardian, after this week’s attacks a Croydon man tweeted:

“I confronted a Muslim women yesterday in croydon. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said “Nothing to do with me” a mealy mouthed reply.”

After a considerable amount of criticism from followers he then tweeted:

“Who cares if I insulted some towelhead ?? Really.”

Discrimination like this is no doubt common, especially on twitter where bigots and fear mongers are able to voice any and all racist opinions. But in this case the Croydon police responded tweeting that the man had been arrested for inciting racial hatred, along with the hashtag #WeStandTogether.

Standing in solidarity is paramount for fighting extremism, as Cameron said at Downing Street he wants to “fortify” people in the “dark and difficult world we’re currently living in.” Securing the safety of the world cannot be achieved without protecting each other and standing together. He went on to say:

“We have to build stronger and more resilient communities. We have to make sure that people who are drifting into an extremist mindset are yanked back.”

A stronger community is only made through peace and unity, hatred and discrimination only helps those who mean to divide us.

Mary Schlichte