When the Southport mosque was targeted by far-right rioters this year, imam Ibrahim Hussein feared for his life. A violent mob descended on the street outside the mosque, hurling stones and shouting: “We want our country back.”
Trapped inside, Hussein received a threatening phone call from an individual involved in the unrest. “They said: ‘Come out, we’re going to kill you, we’re going to burn you,’” Hussein recalled. “We were absolutely terrified.”
Eight weeks on from the far-right disorder that swept across England in the aftermath of a knife attack at a children’s dance class that killed three young girls in Southport, it may appear for many that things have returned to normal.
However, for several communities and victims, fear and uncertainty remains, with anxiety that a similar episode could flare up and leave minority groups unsafe and at risk.
The disorder in late July, provoked by fake news that suggested the perpetrator of the Southport knife attack was a Muslim asylum seeker, was the worst violence in the UK for almost a decade.
Mosques were attacked, hotels housing asylum seekers set alight and people of colour targeted on the streets. Rioters in Leeds shouted for “paedo Muslims off our streets” as the week-long disorder spread from Liverpool to Manchester to Hull. Cars and local businesses were torched and missiles thrown at police officers.
For the 68-year-old imam at the Southport mosque, the riots have had a lasting impact on the community, with some worshippers requesting counselling to cope. “A lot of people are worried about what took place and they’re fearful of a repeat of the same thing because there is an undercurrent of prejudice in the town,” Hussein said.
Hussein said he had also struggled to come to terms with the traumatic experience of the riot. “I have nightmares. It comes to me while I’m asleep and I wake up three, four times a night,” he said. “We wake up with anxiety, wake up thinking someone is behind and someone is threatening.”
He added: “Me and all the others that were trapped in the mosque, we have a hard time, worrying. Some of them have young families and they thought they would never see them again, it’s quite an ordeal but hopefully it’s behind us.”
The Southport mosque was one of several across the country that were targeted during the riots. Mosque Security, a company that advises faith leaders on protection, said there had been an estimated 300% increase in inquiries in August.
Qari Asim, the chair of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, said some Muslims were questioning their future in the UK.
“I’ve heard many people talking about having a place elsewhere if they need to go,” he said. “That’s deeply concerning and traumatising that people think this may not be their home sometime in the future.
“Women have to think twice before leaving home, especially at night-time, elderly men from the mosque have to look [over their] shoulder to see if anyone’s walking that might potentially attack them.”
Asim and Hussein praised the action taken by the government and justice system in apprehending the rioters but said deeper issues remained, particularly regarding hate speech online.
So far, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the unrest and dozens sentenced, with children as young as 12 before the courts.
But this has not quelled all fears. Mohammed Idris, whose internet cafe in south Belfast was set alight during a riot, said he planned to relocate his business.
This week, about five businesses on the same road as his were targeted with superglue. Police in Northern Ireland confirmed inquiries were ongoing and the incident is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime.
Idris said: “This place is not safe for us to do business,. People are not welcoming immigrants … Every morning I come to work and I feel unsafe. But I have only one choice to come and do my business, otherwise I can lose everything. I have to keep going until I move somewhere else.
“The majority are good people but this minority is making loud noise. At any time they can come and damage the business again, they can attack me. I am not feeling safe at all.”
This sentiment was echoed by a garage owner in Hull, who said he was “terrified” after the premises were targeted by far-right rioters.
More than 100 people rampaged through the city in early August in what a judge later described as “12 hours of racist, hate-fuelled mob violence”, smashing, looting and burning at least a dozen businesses.
The garage owner, who is originally from Iraq but has lived in the UK for 22 years, did not want to be named due to fear of reprisals. He said £20,000-worth of cars were damaged during the disorder and his business is struggling to recover.
“It’s not easy for us. We try to recover but it’s going to take a long time. We lost about 80% of customers,” he said. “Personally I’m done. I’m not going to be long in this country, to be honest.”
In Rotherham, 700 people gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers and hurled wood, chairs and bottles at the building, later setting it alight.
Caroline Norman, a project manager for Health Access for Refugees in South Yorkshire, received several text messages from distressed asylum seekers in the hotel, describing windows being smashed. She said: “I thought somebody might die.”
However, for Norman, the riots were not a surprise. Hotels housing asylum seekers had been targeted before by the far right. In one incident at the Rotherham hotel, an asylum seeker was badly beaten six weeks before the riot, Norman said. “There were lots of things leading up to it [the riots] that were concerning that I don’t think were taken seriously.”
After a week of disorder, the riots subsided as counter-protests spread across the country with thousands gathering to protect mosques and immigration centres. People held anti-racism placards and chanted slogans, offering hope to some that the worst of the violence had passed.
For communities still reeling from the riots’ impacts, that hope has sustained. In an effort to build stronger community relations, the Southport mosque held an open day this month which was attended by 300 people.
“Everybody was very happy and grateful and they all supported us. They all said that this is a very good step and [so] we will carry on doing it every year,” Hussein said.
Another open day is planned in Southport this weekend to coincide with the national Visit My Mosque campaign. The theme for this year is “sharing stories”, with the aim of promoting greater understanding between communities.
Zara Mohammed, the general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the event has come at an important time.
“I hope in the wake of such terrifying far-right violence, we will continue to open doors, hearts, and minds for a Visit My Mosque weekend that reminds us all why we are proud of our diverse Britain. I invite everyone to take the invitation and join us for a cuppa.”
