Rajnaara C Akhtar, a British Muslim activist and the acting chair of the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab, writes in the Independent, with thanks to Nobody’s Business.
When the reports of the bombings initially emerged on 7/7, sadness was followed by anger, a sinking heart and a silent prayer: “Please don’t let it be Muslims who are responsible.” The tragic events were an attack on more than the citizens of London; they were an attack on Britain’s cohesive community, unparalleled in Europe and most of the wider Western world.
It has emerged since then that perhaps the trust and respect between Britain’s diverse communities are likely to break down. As the rest of the country attempts to come to terms with the catastrophic events, how does the Muslim community, with a triple burden, begin to recover, with the trauma of terrorist attacks, the task of addressing the reality that terrorism was perpetrated by British Muslims, and the spiralling reprisal attacks?
Since 10am on 7/7, the Muslim community has been on high alert. Parents in London rushed to take children out of schools and to safety. The Islamic Human Rights Commission issued a warning and advice to Muslim women to ensure their security. Many Muslim women took the advice not to travel alone, with even the known independent and tenacious women becoming alive to the seriousness of the situation…
Once again, it seems the main people Ms. Akhtar is worried about are her fellow Muslims, not her fellow English citizens.