UK religious leaders condemn anti-Muslim riots, call for harmony

Senior religious leaders in the UK from across faiths have condemned the far-right anti-Muslim riots that have embroiled the country over the past week in the shape of violence and vandalism against police, ethnic minorities and buildings.

The UK’s most senior Christian leader the Archbishop of Canterbury joined forces with Jewish, Muslim and Catholic leaders to condemn the violence and hatred, describing it as a "stain on our national conscience".

Justin Welby, the senior bishop and leader of the Church of England, together with Sayed Razawi the Chief Imam and director-general of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, the chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board Qari Asim, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Catholic leader Cardinal Vincent Nichols, wrote to The Times newspaper to express their concerns.

The religious figures said they have "watched in horror" the riots which have taken place in cities and towns in England and Northern Ireland since 30 July.

"We have seen anti-Muslim hatred and the targeting of mosques; asylum seekers and refugees attacked; violence directed towards the police and private property — all of which are a stain on our national moral conscience," the letter published on Wednesday said.

The UK has been rocked by riots from far-right groups which have targeted mosques, accommodation centres housing asylum seekers, and homes and businesses owned by ethnic minorities.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attacks as "far-right thuggery" and said he had mobilised an additional police unit to deal with the disorder.

Dozens more protests are planned for Wednesday night with thousands of police preparing as protests will allegedly target immigration and refugee centres.

At least 50 police officers have been injured in the violence, which saw a police jeep set on fire in Belfast and Liverpool and a Holiday Inn hotel housing refugees attacked and stormed by a mob in the northern town of Rotherham over the weekend.

Footage broadcast by Sky News showed police in riot gear as bits of wood and brick are hurled at them.

More than 400 people have been arrested as hearings take place this week A government minister said that over 500 prison places had been freed up to accommodate those arrested in the riots.

Three men were jailed on Wednesday for taking part in violent disorder in Merseyside, northwest England. They were respectively charged with attacking a police officer, arson and racially aggravated attack.

The violence erupted in the wake of the horrific stabbing attack which killed three girls in Southport on 29 July. Disinformation spread by right-wing influencers online suggested that the perpetrator was Muslim and a refugee, which sparked the Islamophobic attacks. The suspect has been arrested and identified as a 17-year-old British citizen born in Cardiff.

In the letter to The Times, the faith leaders said that every British citizen has "a right to be respected and a responsibility to respect others".

"We pledge to work with government and all sections of society towards a constructive and compassionate dialogue on immigration and social cohesion."

The Chief Rabbi's name next to the two Muslim leaders could raise eyebrows among some Muslim communities who have previously called for Qari Asim to refrain from working with Mirvis due to his connection to the pro-Israel organisation Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Mirvis previously said that the pro-Palestine demonstrations in the UK in the wake of the Gaza war were "anti-semitic" and has expressed support for Israel’s war, which has killed and injured some 130,000 Palestinians – mainly women and children.