‘Feeling terrorized’: Muslims in famously left-leaning Liverpool shocked by UK riots

A view shows the Abdullah Quilliam Mosque, amid rioting across the country in which mosques and Muslims have been targets, in Liverpool, Britain on August 6, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 08 August 2024
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‘Feeling terrorized’: Muslims in famously left-leaning Liverpool shocked by UK riots

  • Muslims report feeling shock after riots, other ethnic minorities say they are worried too
  • Muslim population in England and Wales stood at 3.9 million, or 6.5% of the total, as of 2021

LIVERPOOL, England: For Liverpool’s biggest mosque, it’s been a week of firsts.

Most entrances have been blocked, men in high-vis jackets have been taking turns to patrol and a handful of worshippers have been sleeping inside at night — all necessary precautions, say officials at the Al-Rahma Mosque, during the UK’s worst riots in years.

The increased vigilance comes as some Muslims and ethnic minorities in Liverpool say they feel unsafe amid widespread violent, racist protests targeting mosques, immigration centers and hotels that haven’t spared the famously left-leaning city in the north of England.

Both mosque officials and other Muslims in Liverpool described feeling shocked, after two mosques further north in England were targeted by violent mobs and hundreds of anti-immigration protesters and counterprotesters clashed in central

Liverpool. Shops were looted and some police were injured.

A second mosque in Liverpool, the Abdullah Quilliam, which describes itself as Britain’s first, has temporarily closed due to the violence, which was fueled by a false narrative spread online that the killer of three girls in nearby Southport last week was an Islamist migrant.

“I was born here, I was raised here. So seeing this, it just doesn’t feel like home,” said Abdulwase Sufian, a 20-year-old student who helps at the Al-Rahma, referring to himself as a “Scouser,” the colloquial term for someone from Liverpool.

“Seeing what’s happened, it’s gotten me scared, not just for myself, but for the future,” he said, the yellow dome and pink-and-yellow minarets of the Al-Rahma behind him as dozens of men finished afternoon prayers and left.

Sufian added that the separate female entrance for the mosque, which serves a wide range of Muslims from ethnic Yemeni to Pakistani, had been closed to discourage women from visiting in the evenings, out of safety concerns.

He himself hasn’t stepped outside his immediate neighborhood out of fears for his safety, Sufian said, a sentiment echoed by others in the community.

FEELING TERRIFIED

Saba Ahmed, a community worker and another Liverpudlian Muslim, said she had felt “terrified” in recent days, and her 15-year-old son was preferring to spend his summer holidays indoors on his PlayStation.

Still, many of Ahmed’s white English friends had been supportive, she said, with some neighbors offering to do the grocery shopping for her so she could remain safe at home.

“That’s our people in Liverpool, that’s our fellow neighbors here,” she said.

Others have been less fortunate.

Farmanullah Nasiri, a taxi driver, described being assaulted after picking up two passengers from Aigburth Road, Liverpool, in the early hours of Tuesday.

One of them, a woman, punched him on the face and broke his dashcam as she left his silver Ford Focus, after starting an argument over the fare and after abusing him once she learnt he was an ethnic Afghan, Nasiri said.

Nasiri, 28, says he did not file a police complaint.

A video shot at 0120 GMT on his iPhone showed a broken dashcam and blood above his right eye. Reuters was not able to verify his account of how it happened.

“This is kind of a racism ... Been here for more than 10 years in Liverpool. Everybody’s friendly. There’s no issue like this before. This is the first time,” Nasiri said.

Tell MAMA, a group which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, has received over 500 calls and online reports of anti-Muslim behavior from across the UK in the past week, a five-fold increase from the week before, its director Iman Atta told Reuters, describing Muslim communities as “terrorized.”

Anti-Muslim hate has been growing in the UK even before the start of the riots, and particularly after the start of the conflict in Gaza last year, the group says.

Over one in four in a survey of 550 British Muslims last month said they had faced an anti-Muslim hate incident in the last year, Tell MAMA said.

‘NOT JUST MUSLIMS’

Amid all the tension, Muslim community leaders are advising calm, at a time when many young men in the community might feel tempted to respond.

Footage from Sky News earlier this week showed a large group of mostly Asian men with Palestinian flags gathering in an area of Birmingham following rumors of a far-right protest at the site, which did not materialize. Police said a man was assaulted and a pub window was smashed, and have charged one man for possession of an offensive weapon.

The rival, counter protests have included both White and non-White people describing themselves as anti-racist, anti-fascist or pro-Palestinian. Sometimes extreme left-wing anarchists have also taken part.

Community leaders are discouraging such gatherings.

“We don’t want these counter protests or these large groups of young people turning up because that’s the spark that we don’t need ... so we need to be very careful,” said Sajjad Amin, trustee of the UKIM Khizra Mosque in Manchester, 30 miles (50 km) from Liverpool.

Some Muslim leaders recounted tensions being defused.

Adam Kelwick, an imam at the temporarily-closed Abdullah Quilliam mosque, said it had been “prepared for the worst” when anti-immigration demonstrators gathered outside last week, but protesters calmed down after offers of food and dialogue.

“All it took was a few burgers and some chips and some genuine intention from our side,” he said, speaking from near the chained up gates of the Victorian-era mosque.

The Muslim population in England and Wales stood at 3.9 million people, or 6.5 percent of the total, as of 2021.

The heightened tension has unnerved both that community and others. On Tuesday evening rumors of a far-right gathering prompted shops on Lawrence Road to down their shutters early.

Local resident Santhosh Thomas, an ethnic Indian, helped chain up two large metal road signs to the fence of a nearby church, to discourage their use as weapons.

He said his brown skin made him a target, regardless of his religion. “It’s not just Muslims ... everyone is scared,” Thomas said, as a police van arrived on Lawrence Road.


Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car

Updated 6 sec ago
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Russia says shot dead Ukrainian agent who tried to blow up car

The suspect, whom it did not name, allegedly worked for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency A pistol with ammunition was found at the scene

MOSCOW: Russia’s FSB security service said Tuesday it shot dead a Ukrainian agent who attempted to plant explosives under the car of a senior defense industry official.
The suspect, whom it did not name, allegedly worked for Ukraine’s GUR intelligence agency and targeted a “senior employee of a defense enterprise in the Sverdlovsk region,” the FSB said.
He was detained while “placing an improvised explosive device in a hiding place, put up armed resistance and was neutralized by return fire,” the FSB added.
A pistol with ammunition was found at the scene, while law enforcement seized components used for making explosives during a search of his residence, it continued.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Ukraine has often targeted Russian officials it believes are complicit in the Kremlin’s full-scale military assault on its territory, which began in 2022.
In December 2023, pro-Russian Ukrainian defector Illia Kyva was shot dead near Moscow in an attack claimed by Kyiv’s security services.

Kremlin says Russian army expansion needed to address growing threats on western flank

Updated 6 min 31 sec ago
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Kremlin says Russian army expansion needed to address growing threats on western flank

  • Putin on Monday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that an order by President Vladimir Putin to transform Russia’s army into the second largest in the world was needed to address growing threats on Russia’s western borders and instability to the east.
Putin on Monday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen in a move that would make it the second largest in the world after China’s.
“This is due to the number of threats that exist to our country along the perimeter of our borders,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
“It is caused by the extremely hostile environment on our western borders and instability on our eastern borders. This demands appropriate measures to be taken.”


Climate fund chief targets poor countries

Updated 11 min 59 sec ago
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Climate fund chief targets poor countries

  • The GCF’s priority target list includes Algeria, the Central African Republic, Chad, Iraq, Lebanon, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan.
  • Also on the list is war-torn Somalia, hit by major floods last year and still reeling from its worst drought in decades

PARIS: Green Climate Fund chief Mafalda Duarte is on a mission to help vulnerable nations that have yet to receive a penny from the world’s largest dedicated source of climate finance.
The United Nations’ flagship organization for chanelling climate funding was set up for developing countries worst hit by climate impacts even if they are least responsible for carbon pollution that drives warming.
Money disbursed helps nations to draw down their greenhouse gas emissions, on the one hand, and adapt to storms, droughts and heatwaves made worse by climate change, along with sea level rise, on the other.
The fund, which began doling out grants a decade ago, has identified 19 climate-vulnerable nations that have received no or very limited funding.
“We are deliberately targeting those,” Duarte told AFP in an interview, taking stock of her first year in charge and outlining her ambitions.
The GCF’s priority target list includes Algeria, the Central African Republic, Chad, Iraq, Lebanon, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan.
“Our goal is to equip the organization such that it becomes a partner of choice for the most vulnerable... and that it delivers where the funds are most needed,” said the Portuguese development economist.
Also on the list is war-torn Somalia, hit by major floods last year and still reeling from its worst drought in decades.
The GCF has pledged to invest more than $100 million over the next year to help the East African nation unlock investments and develop climate projects.
These include funding off-grid solar energy in rural communities, boosting resilience of the agricultural sector and helping with access to more money in the future.
“We need to adjust our mechanisms to be responsive to this type of country with weak institutional capacity,” she said, insisting on the need for projects to reach isolated populations despite security challenges.
The GCF was first funded by wealthy nations a decade ago as a key component in the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement.
It funnels grants and loans for projects mostly in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean.
But its ambitions have been hindered by limited resources and a cumbersome bureaucracy, making it hard for some of the world’s most at-risk countries to access funding.
How to streamline the process for getting money in a timely manner will be critical issues at November’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan.
Duarte aims to triple the GCF’s capital to $50 billion by 2030 — an ambitious goal, but a small fraction of the trillions experts say is needed overall.
Founded in 2010, the fund today has some 250 partners implementing projects on the ground, spanning UN agencies, development banks, government ministries and agencies, the private sector and NGOs.
Another 200 have expressed interest in aligning with the fund.
“If we are able to work with this vast network of partners that are closer to the realities on the ground where investments are happening, we can make a really big difference,” she said.
As of last month, the fund has committed $15 billion to 270 projects.
In the last 12 months, the GCF approved close to $790 million for the world’s poorest countries — a fourfold increase compared to 2022.
But it remains a drop in the ocean compared to what is needed, experts say.
Currently, donor nations decide what contributions they make to the fund.
At COP29, countries are expected to set a new global climate finance goal, though divisions over its size and scope have hampered negotiations.
As discussions enter a critical phase, Duarte has a simple message for governments: “Be bold. We don’t have the luxury of waiting.”


Top opponent of India PM Modi quits after release from jail

Updated 28 min 38 sec ago
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Top opponent of India PM Modi quits after release from jail

  • The Supreme Court granted him bail last week on the condition that he refrained from signing official files or visiting his office
  • Kejriwal responded by tendering his resignation to seek a fresh mandate from the public in Delhi polls slated for early next year

NEW DELHI: A top political opponent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi quit as chief minister of the capital Delhi on Tuesday, days after being released on bail in a corruption case.
Arvind Kejriwal, a key leader in an opposition alliance that battled Modi in national elections this year, was detained in March on accusations his city government received kickbacks from allocating liquor licenses.
He is among several opposition figures facing graft probes. His party has described his arrest as a “political conspiracy” orchestrated by Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Supreme Court granted him bail last week on the condition that he refrained from signing official files or visiting his office.
Kejriwal responded by tendering his resignation to seek a fresh mandate from the public in Delhi polls slated for early next year.
The capital’s education minister Atishi, who goes by one name, will replace him in the interim.
“Atishi steps up to lead Delhi until the upcoming elections, carrying the weight of both CM Arvind Kejriwal’s vision and the national capital’s future,” a statement from their Aam Aadmi Party said.
Kejriwal, 56, began his career as a tax collector but quit his civil service job to become a national anti-corruption crusader, bringing him national fame.
Hundreds of cheering supporters greeted him as he left jail on Friday, accusing the government of trying to “break him” by putting him behind bars.
“My resolve is stronger than before,” he said. “God is by my side.”
Kejriwal refused to resign from his position while in custody despite questions over whether his jailing would prevent him from carrying out his official duties.
Atishi, 43, suggested after her nomination that she would still be looking to her predecessor for guidance.
“Delhi only has one chief minister. It is Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.
Kejriwal’s administration was accused of corruption when it liberalized the sale of liquor in the capital three years ago, surrendering a lucrative government stake in the sector.
He is among several prominent Modi opponents to face criminal investigation or trial in recent years.
US think tank Freedom House said this year that the BJP had “increasingly used government institutions to target political opponents.”


Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine

Updated 31 min 34 sec ago
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Germany pledges winter aid package for Ukraine

  • Moscow has pounded Ukraine’s energy network throughout the two-and-a-half year war
  • Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves

BERLIN: Germany will provide 100 million euros ($111 million) in aid to help Ukraine through the coming winter as it weathers Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
“Ukraine is facing another winter of war and Putin is waging a brutal war of cold,” the ministry wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine’s heat and energy supply. This is why Germany is providing a further 100 million euros in winter aid for the (Ukrainian) energy supply.”
Moscow has pounded Ukraine’s energy network throughout the two-and-a-half year war, destroying swathes of the country’s infrastructure and causing severe power shortages and blackouts.
Russian forces have recently shifted their focus from shelling energy distribution networks to targeting energy production facilities, which are much more costly and take years to repair or rebuild.
Moscow is also targeting the country’s energy reserves.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal last week laid out plans to repair and protect the country’s power system ahead of the winter, including reinforcing facilities against drone attacks and impacts from missile fragments.
Shmygal said all hospitals and more than 80 percent of schools across the country were equipped with generators, but there was still “an urgent need for another 1,800 high-capacity generators.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in June that Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities had destroyed half of its electricity generation capacity since last winter.
In early September, the EU announced 40 million euros in humanitarian aid for Ukraine to help with repair work, electricity, heating and housing ahead of the coming winter.