Little girls were killed yet bigots only care about spreading hate 

The period following the horrific killings of three little girls at a dance class should be a time of national mourning. 

A chance to allow investigations to be carried out and justice served, followed by introspection at what conditions and circumstances could have made such unspeakable brutality against children possible.

Instead, it has been hijacked as an opportunity to sow discord, spread hate and ultimately further the Islamophobic agenda of a section of society who view Muslims like me as subhuman.

As a mother, I am in deep pain for the suffering of those three families – but at the same time, as a visibly Muslim woman, I’ve never felt more unsafe in the country I call home. 

Soon after Monday’s attack, a 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons was arrested.

The police and media outlets are limited in what they can say about the suspect, and so disinformation started to circulate on social media. 

The name Ali Al-Shakati which, as of this morning, is still trending on X, began to spread like wildfire as being connected to the incident. 

It was depressing and frightening to see accounts with major followings – primarily with rightwing or anti-immigrant agendas – sharing fake news about the identity of the alleged attacker, including the entirely fabricated fact that he was a Muslim named Ali Al-Shakati, an illegal immigrant who had arrived by boat to the UK last year and that this was an Islamist act of terror. 

This was despite that early on in the case, the police clarified that this incident was not believed to be an act of terror and that the person in custody was born in Cardiff. 

Furthermore, yesterday, the police issued a statement saying ‘A name has been shared on social media in connection with the suspect in the incident in Southport. This name is incorrect and we would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing’.

That didn’t stop the anti-immigrant agendas, nor the far-right rioting that took place last night. 

Union-Jack-displaying anonymous accounts portraying themselves as proud British patriots sarcastically posted phrases like ‘religion of peace’ (in reference to the fabricated Islamic identity of the suspect) and called for Brits to rise up against the Muslim ‘invasion’ taking place. 

And so Islamophobic hysteria that has gripped parts of the nation, determined to lay a crime entirely unconnected to the community at our door.

The aftermath of these attacks should be focused on the little girls who have lost their lives and the others still fighting for theirs in hospital. 

Instead, the far-right have made it about them – and hatred – once again. 

I’ve spoken up in the past about the unfair expectation that when one Muslim does something wrong, all of us are burdened with the pressure to apologise and face communal blame for problems that exist within every group in society.

But what has unfolded in Southport since Monday’s attack is proof that even when Muslims are not to blame, even when we haven’t done anything wrong, we are still the enemy. 

Of course, even if the suspect had been Muslim, it would be no excuse for rioting against an entire community – or the sort of virulent Islamophobia that has escalated since.

But either way, it was fake news, and on Tuesday we saw just how dangerous it can be when such discord spreads online and spills over into real life.

A peaceful vigil of hundreds who gathered to remember the dead and injured children and their families was hijacked by those with an anti-Muslim agenda.

Reported to be primarily members of the English Defence League, and with locals saying they had come from far out of town, the rioters chanted ‘Allah, Allah, who the f**k is Allah?’ and ‘English till I die’. 

The far right protestors gathered around a Southport mosque, throwing items at the building, setting cars and wheelie bins on fire, breaking into shops and clashing with riot police, leaving over 50 officers injured. 

At a time when three families are dealing with the unspeakable loss of their precious little girls, it feels unfitting to be focusing on anyone else’s experiences. 

But what has unfolded since the attack cannot be ignored either – and it is indicative of a lot more than just a fractured community dealing with loss.

What we have seen is the direct result of an atmosphere of normalised Islamophobia that has become systemic within British society and parts of our politics and media. 

We cannot separate the scenes of far-right thugs attacking a mosque last night from the way politicians spew anti-immigrant – and directly anti-Muslim – agendas. 

It is impossible to see what has unfolded as anything but the direct result of Islamophobia going unchecked for too long. 

Is it any wonder then that all we need is a fake Muslim-sounding name to spark riots?

The failure of sites like X to curb anti-Muslim hate by allowing figures like Tommy Robinson to spout Islamophobia to millions without a filter has played a part too. 

As a Muslim online, I am bombarded daily with racism to the point where I have come to expect it but, the events in Southport prove that this isn’t just the work of anonymous keyboard warriors. 

It’s not just about offensive tweets – last night shows that Islamophobia, when allowed to fester, has real life safety implications for communities like mine.

All of this has crystallised into an atmosphere in which Muslims don’t even have to have done anything wrong anymore to be vilified. 

The mere fact that we exist is enough to spark anger and violence from those who think our presence is threatening and anti-British.

Ultimately, the fact that thousands have been willing to hijack the mourning of an entire community, and the deaths of three precious children, to further their own bigotry and hate is a sign of how far we have descended into blanket, entrenched Islamophobia in Britain. 

And while our leading figures like Prime Minister Keir Starmer say all the right things about Southport rioters facing the ‘full brunt of the law’, it is vital that we don’t let wider British society off the hook for the pressure cooker of hate and marginalisation that has been allowed to develop over recent years. 

I was shocked and appalled by last night’s events in Southport. 

How anyone can look at the devastation and grief caused by these deadly attacks and think ‘now is the time to spread disinformation and hate’ is beyond me. 

Because not only does it do harm to Muslims everywhere, but it takes attention away from Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, who had their lives cruelly ripped away from them.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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