Following a violent assault on an imam at a central London mosque, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) released a statement which blamed the “sections” of the U.K. media for creating an atmosphere which is alleged to have contributed to this and other recent attacks. A portion of the statement is as follows:
In recent weeks we have heard of several similar incidents of violent attacks against Imams and mosques across the UK, including a daytime arson attack on a mosque in Bradford last week where many children had gathered for prayers. There is clearly a growing anti-Muslim climate in this country and it has some very worrying implications for all of us. It is deeply regrettable that sections of our media have been playing a key role in fomenting much of this Islamophobic prejudice and hatred against British Muslims,’ said a spokesperson at the Muslim Council of Britain. The MCB urges British Muslim institutions to liaise with their local police to discuss any safety concerns that they may have. The MCB also urges the British media to adopt a more responsible attitude in their reporting to ensure that whole groups and institutions are not unfairly vilified.
The MCB is an umbrella group of British Muslims dominated by groups associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood which often makes claims about “Islamaphobia.” As an earlier post has noted, the British government has recently decided to disengage from the MCB which had previously been seen as their main dialog partner with respect to British Muslims.