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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Emily Winterbotham, Claudia Wallner and Jessica White

UK riots expose double standards on far-right and Islamist violence

Workers repair the road and garden walls around the Southport Islamic Society mosque, which was attacked by far-right extremists last month.
Workers repair the road and garden walls around the Southport Islamic Society mosque, which was attacked by far-right extremists last month. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

The recent riots in the UK, sparked by the Southport stabbings, have exposed troubling double standards in how society perceives and responds to far-right violence compared to Islamist extremism. This disparity calls for a serious redefinition of how we address far-right extremism, recognising it as the grave threat it truly represents.

Far-right motivated violence is often classified as mere “thuggery” or hooliganism, while similar acts motivated by Islamist extremism would likely to be swiftly labeled as terrorism. This inconsistency undermines the perceived severity of far-right threats and hinders the political will to take equivalent action.

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