As Ramadan begins for the Muslim community around the world, the British government announces the investment of £117 million to protect places of worship and cultural centers. Muslims in the UK are currently facing a rise in Islamophobia.
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With our correspondent in London, Émeline Vin
More than 120 million euros will be allocated over four years to install surveillance cameras, more resistant fences and alarm systems in mosques, Islamic schools and cultural places. A way to protect places associated with Islam and the faithful from Islamophobic attacks.
Threats and insults
According to an association which collects testimonies from victims, these attacks increased threefold between October and February, compared to the same period a year earlier. The NGO Tell Mama draws a direct link between this increase in attacks and the war in Gaza. These incidents mainly involve insults on social networks, but also threats sprayed on mosques and insults in the street. Women represent two thirds of the victims.
“ To reassure »
The funding released this Monday March 11 by the government should make it possible to “ to reassure » the Muslim community, while Islamophobia has no official definition in British law and the vice-president of the ruling Conservative Party was fired two weeks ago for equating Islam with Islamism and refusing to ‘excuse.
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