As we enter #IslamophobiaAwarenessMonth, I've been researching the Dover attack @hopenothate. The implications are grim.
“Your children will feel the pain we will obliterate them Muslim children are now our target And there disgusting women will be targeted mothers and sisters Is burn alive”. > This tweet was sent by Andrew Leak, about one hour before he allegedly firebombed the migrant centre.
Hope not Hate research reveals the suspect was extensively consumed with a desire for violence against Muslims and migrants. hopenothate.org.uk/2022/11/02/dov…
I work on anti-migrant hate and the overlap between hatred of migrants and Muslims is a constant theme. Terms such as “Grooming gangs”, “cross-channel migration”, “fighting-age men”, “invasion” and “terrorism” are all conflated in anti-migrant social media groups and channels.
But the problem isn’t only on far-flung social media channels. When you have the Home Secretary labelling asylum seekers, refugees and migrants as an ‘invasion’ it sows the seeds of division and hatred.
When you have endless coverage of Muslims represented as a fifth-column in British society, it breeds suspicion and feeds far-right conspiracy theories about Muslims.
When you have a government that has dropped work on an official definition of Islamophobia that was promised over three years ago, it signals a lack of concern over anti-Muslim hate.
https://twitter.com/lizziedearden/status/1586761487284113410
Words have consequences. Islamophobia comes from rhetoric that dehumanises Muslim communities & party structures that tolerate discrimination. Repeated demonisation of migrants and refugees also shapes hostile public opinion and encourages the far-right in their amalgamations.
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