UK Police advised to shield mosques before far-right demonstrations

• UK authorities urge police to increase protection for mosques amid fears of far-right targeting.
• Judge Andrew Menary KC lifted reporting restrictions on Rudakubana’s identity to prevent the further spread of disinformation.
• Communities fear misinformation has spread too far, increasing the risk to more mosques and asylum-seekers.

Authorities in the UK have called on police to increase protection for mosques amid fears of far-right targeting. Earlier this week, mobs targeted mosques in Southport and Hartlepool in northern England, while violence erupted in other cities across the country.

Violence erupted after three children were stabbed to death in Southport on Monday, fueled by false information circulating online that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum-seeker. On Thursday, a court identified the attacker as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

Judge Andrew Menary KC, who is hearing the case, lifted the reporting restrictions on Rudakubana’s identity despite his age to prevent those “who are up to mischief” from continuing to spread disinformation in a vacuum. However, communities across the country fear that the misinformation has already spread too far, putting more mosques and asylum-seekers at greater risk.

Iman Atta, director of Tell Mama, an organization that studies Islamophobia in the UK, told The Guardian, “We need the police to organize and increase their patrols around mosques and asylum-seeker accommodation.”

“It would be good to see neighborhood teams change their patrol times to provide additional reassurance to the communities.”

Subsequent demonstrations in Manchester and Aldershot saw protesters targeting migrant accommodation with signs reading “deport them, don’t support them” and “no apartments for illegals.” In London, at least 110 people were arrested after flares were thrown during a protest near Downing Street. Shaukat Warraich, a director at Mosque Security, told The Guardian that numerous people had contacted his company for advice in recent days. He noted that its online security recommendations had been downloaded by “hundreds” due to “the false anti-Muslim narrative being peddled following the Southport murders.”

The Guardian reported that it expects 19 far-right rallies to take place across England in the coming days, with counter-demonstrations planned in London and Liverpool.

Atta told the newspaper: “Last week has demonstrated how the far right can organize online and promote hate and misinformation toward Muslim communities, refugees and asylum-seekers. We ask communities to keep calm, look out for each other, and to remain vigilant.”

Nahella Ashraf, of Stand Up to Racism Manchester, said: “Before the election, with all the attacks on asylum-seekers, it’s not surprising we’re seeing this unleashed.”

“We’ve had years where people are feeling angry and neglected and the cost-of-living crisis feeds into it. It’s the climate the politicians have set.”

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