Rise of right wing is 'linked to hate crime' says Muslim leader as attacks reach 15-year high
A rise in the number of right wing groups is contributing towards an increase of hate crimes taking place across the region, a Muslim leader has claimed.
Muhammad Yaseen Khan said terror attacks in Paris and Brussels had also put mosques and other religious landmarks in particularly vulnerable situation. Figures released by West Midlands Police revealed the force had investigated 235 reports of hate crime near mosques last year, the highest number during the last 15 years.
More than 2,000 separate incidents have been reported since 2001.
An attack on the Bait-ul-Ata Mosque in Willenhall Road, Wolverhampton was one such 'hate crime', which happened in August last year.
A man reached over the gates at the front of the mosque to hurl a missile before returning a few minutes later with handfuls of other items, which he also threw at the building.
Security was increased at the mosque in the wake of the attack, which now has round-the-clock surveillance with someone sleeping in the building each night to deter further vandalism. Mr Khan, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Wolverhampton, said: "The figures indicate there appears to be an increase in call-outs where the word mosque has been used.
"Secondly, we must also remember that we are dependent on the local police agencies to dictate the branding of such crime and there may have been many hate crimes, especially before 2012, which may have been branded in differing themes.
"I am of the opinion there has been an increase of hate crimes against mosques and other religious landmarks and we are in particularly vulnerable situation following the unfolding of reported terror attacks such as what took place in Paris or more recently Brussels.
"This, in my view, is due to the uprising of right wing groups who see it reasonable to attack innocent majorities of an overall faith and not give due diligence to the fact that extremism exists in all shapes and forms.
"The middle ground here is to listen to what faith leaders are saying on a regular basis and are condemning these attacks."
Mr Khan said the worldwide leader of the Ahmadiyya Community, his Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmed, had repeatedly condemned such atrocities.
West Midlands Police said the figures, 2,390 since 2001, related to searches for incidents where the word 'mosque' had appeared, which meant the crimes may have occurred near a mosque rather than at the places of worship.
