LONDON // It was, perhaps, too good to last. In the wake of the Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge attacks, British Muslim communities have been increasingly on edge, fearing a violent backlash against acts in which they played no part, and for which they felt only horror and revulsion.
When it finally came, just after midnight on Sunday, politicians and commentators alike were quick to condemn the actions of the white van driver who mowed down worshippers outside the Finsbury Park Mosque as terrorism. British prime minister Theresa May said the attack was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life”, as the atrocities in London and Manchester had been.
It took the police just eight minutes to declare the attack a terrorist incident. Just as armed officers had been dispatched to vulnerable targets in the wake of the Manchester bombing, so Scotland Yard announced patrols would be sent to guard mosques across the capital.
British authorities are treading a fine line, anxious to be seen to be taking the attack as seriously as possible, while also keen to stress that the 48-year-old attacker was a disturbed individual with mental health problems.
On Monday evening, hundreds of people of all faiths and none attended a vigil outside Finsbury Park Mosque. Muslims, Christians, Jews and atheists stood silently side by side and, carrying banners with messages such as “Love will win, terror will lose” and “United against all terror”, the show of unity seemed intended to offer reassurance that, at the end of the day, all was well.
“An attack on the Muslim community is an attack on every single citizen in Great Britain,” Rabbi Herschel Gluck told the crowd. “We are one nation, under one god, living together, working together, co-operating together in this country.” An attack on one faith, said the Rt Rev Adrian Newman, the Bishop of Stepney, “is an attack on us all”.
Standing alongside Cressida Dick, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mohammed Kozbar, chair of the mosque, said that, whatever their creed or colour, it was the aim of “extremists … to divide our communities … to spread hatred, fear and division”. His message to them was “we will not let you do that”.
But the vigil did not paint a true picture of the increasingly tense situation in which Muslims find themselves in the UK.
On Monday, the Muslim Council of Great Britain, an umbrella body representing over 500 mosques, organisations, charities and schools, pointed out that “over the past weeks and months, Muslims have endured many incidents of Islamophobia”. The van attack on the Finsbury Park worshippers, said the council’s secretary-general, Harun Khan, was merely “the most violent manifestation to date”. According to the police, the daily number of reported anti-Muslim hate crimes in the capital spiked after the London Bridge attack, rising to 20 immediately afterwards, up from a typical average of 3.5 a day.
Tell Mama, a project run by Faith Matters, a counter-extremism think-tank, collates reports of incidents of Islamaphobia in the UK. Examples are added to its catalogue of hate almost daily, and they make for shocking reading. In the past few months, a bag of vomit was thrown at a woman in the Blackburn area; worshippers in Cambridge left their mosque to find bacon had been draped over their cars; and in Rotherham, a northern city with a large Asian population, Muslims were said by the local paper to be “resigned” to being “spat at, abused and intimidated”.
“I am very sensitive about promoting a sense of victimisation but when I speak to Muslim communities and ask if anyone has come across examples of hate, virtually everyone’s hand will go up,” Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, told The National. “This is not acceptable. It is time to take seriously the extremist threat from the right.”
Examples of harassment and worse are legion. Mr Mughal said that he himself spent four and a half years trying but failing to secure police help to deal with a man who was harassing him online. The man was finally jailed – for just three months – but only when Mr Mughal brought a civil action against him.
“People look at a 61-year-old white guy and think ‘He can’t be an extremist’, even though he’s involved in some of the worst anti-Muslim sites we know and has crossed the criminal threshold for harassment. ‘He’s just a granddad, isn’t he?’ But they look at an Asian guy and say ‘He must be guilty’, and this is our reality.”
For a Muslim family in south London earlier this month, that reality meant receiving hand-delivered hate mail, warning them to “Leave or you will be among the first to die”. Killing Muslims, the note continued, “is no longer murder. It is pest control.”
In Salford, Naveed Yasin, a surgeon who had spent 48 hours saving the lives of victims of the Manchester Arena bomb attack, was abused as he sat in traffic on his way back to work at the hospital. “Go back to your country, you terrorist,” the white, middle-aged driver of a van screamed at him. “We don’t want you people here.”
Mr Mughal said it was right and proper that the London mayor, politicians and religious leaders had stood shoulder-to-shoulder in condemning the Finsbury mosque attack. But it would be “a big mistake” to pretend that Britain was one big, happy, multicultural family.
Right-wing online networks “are creating exactly the same radicalisation triggers as Islamist extremist material”, he said. The Home Office “knows what the problem is but is scared to do anything”, a situation exacerbated by the weakness of Mrs May’s lame duck government which is now more dependent than ever before on far-right voters.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Five calorie-packed Ramadan drinks
Rooh Afza
100ml contains 414 calories
Tang orange drink
100ml serving contains 300 calories
Carob beverage mix
100ml serving contains about 300 calories
Qamar Al Din apricot drink
100ml saving contains 61 calories
Vimto fruit squash
100ml serving contains 30 calories
The Roundup : No Way Out
Director: Lee Sang-yong
Stars: Don Lee, Lee Jun-hyuk, Munetaka Aoki
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
THE BIG THREE
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
19 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 5 (2011, 14, 15, 18, 19)
French Open: 2 (2016, 21)
US Open: 3 (2011, 15, 18)
Australian Open: 9 (2008, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21)
Prize money: $150m
ROGER FEDERER
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 8 (2003, 04, 05, 06, 07, 09, 12, 17)
French Open: 1 (2009)
US Open: 5 (2004, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Australian Open: 6 (2004, 06, 07, 10, 17, 18)
Prize money: $130m
RAFAEL NADAL
20 grand slam singles titles
Wimbledon: 2 (2008, 10)
French Open: 13 (2005, 06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20)
US Open: 4 (2010, 13, 17, 19)
Australian Open: 1 (2009)
Prize money: $125m
RACE CARD
6.30pm Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.40pm Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m
8.15pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m
Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
More on animal trafficking
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Brief scores:
Southampton 2
Armstrong 13', Soares 20'
Manchester United 2
Lukaku 33', Herrera 39'
Champion v Champion (PFL v Bellator)
Heavyweight: Renan Ferreira v Ryan Bader
Middleweight: Impa Kasanganay v Johnny Eblen
Featherweight: Jesus Pinedo v Patricio Pitbull
Catchweight: Ray Cooper III v Jason Jackson
Showcase Bouts
Heavyweight: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World champ) v Vadim Nemkov (former Bellator champ)
Light Heavyweight: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) v Yoel Romero (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight: Clay Collard (PFL title contender) v AJ McKee (former Bellator champ)
Featherweight: Gabriel Braga (PFL title contender) v Aaron Pico (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight: Biaggio Ali Walsh (pro debut) v Emmanuel Palacios (pro debut)
Women’s Lightweight: Claressa Shields v Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight: Abdullah Al Qahtani v Edukondal Rao
Amateur Flyweight: Malik Basahel v Vinicius Pereira
Company Profile
Name: Raha
Started: 2022
Based: Kuwait/Saudi
Industry: Tech Logistics
Funding: $14 million
Investors: Soor Capital, eWTP Arabia Capital, Aujan Enterprises, Nox Management, Cedar Mundi Ventures
Number of employees: 166
Tomb Raider I–III Remastered
Developer: Aspyr
Publisher: Aspyr
Console: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 3/5
FIXTURES
All times UAE (+4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
The specs
Engine: Dual permanently excited synchronous motors
Power: 516hp or 400Kw
Torque: 858Nm
Transmission: Single speed auto
Range: 485km
Price: From Dh699,000
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Clara
Started: 2019
Founders: Patrick Rogers, Lee McMahon, Arthur Guest, Ahmed Arif
Based: Dubai
Industry: LegalTech
Funding size: $4 million of seed financing
Investors: Wamda Capital, Shorooq Partners, Techstars, 500 Global, OTF, Venture Souq, Knuru Capital, Plug and Play and The LegalTech Fund
RACE CARD
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Gulf rugby
Who’s won what so far in 2018/19
Western Clubs Champions League: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens: Dubai Hurricanes
West Asia Premiership: Bahrain
What’s left
UAE Conference
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Hurricanes II v Al Ain Amblers, Jebel Ali Dragons II v Dubai Tigers
March 29, final
UAE Premiership
March 22, play-offs:
Dubai Exiles v Jebel Ali Dragons, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Dubai Hurricanes
March 29, final