PAUL MACKNEY, general secretary of NATFHE, the college and university
lecturers’ union, has spoken out against the dangers of an Islamophobic
backlash after the London bombings.
"The police logged some 70 anti-Muslim incidents within 24 hours
of the bombings," he said. "Newspapers reported arson attacks
on mosques and Sikh temples at Leeds, Belvedere, Telford and Birkenhead.
‘We have to ensure that the backlash does not turn on our Muslim
brothers and sisters. We stand with them in opposition to the bombings
and against the racism that identifies them as a problem."
The inflammatory language of the editorial statement in The Sun on 8
July showed why the growth of racism and Islamophobia is a danger. It
ranted: "In the name of New York, Washington, Bali, Nairobi, Madrid
and now London, we shall have vengeance and justice…
"Britain is crawling with suspected terrorists and those who
give them succour. The government must act without delay, round up this
enemy in our midst and lock them in internment camps. Our safety must
not play second fiddle to their supposed ‘rights’."
JOURNALISTS AT The Sun’s US-based cousins Fox News channel, part of
Rupert Murdoch’s capitalist print empire, said that the London bombings
had worked "to the western world’s advantage…" They put
terrorism back on the top of the G8 agenda instead of global warming and
African aid.
Another Fox News presenter wondered why the International Olympic
Committee had missed a golden opportunity by not awarding the 2012
Olympics to France. "It would have been the one time we could look
forward to where we didn’t worry about terrorism. They’d blow up Paris,
and who cares?
"The British should let the French have the Olympics – let
someone else be worried about guys with backpack bombs." An
American media watchdog criticised these comments as "callous
reactions to the bombings that took dozens of lives."
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