Counterterrorism police in the UK are investigating far-right groups accused of trying to use the coronavirus crisis to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment.
The monitoring group Tell Mama said that last month it recorded dozens of incidents of far-right groups allegedly trying to put blame on British Muslims for the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The group said it had had to debunk numerous claims made on social media that Muslims were breaching the lockdown by continuing to attend mosques to pray.
There were also incidents where Muslims were attacked, the group said.
In one tweet from a prominent white nationalist, claims were made that Muslims were breaching the lockdown by congregating outside a mosque in Wembley. Tell Mama debunked this claim, and after it encouraged others users to report the content, Twitter removed the tweet and placed restrictions on the account.
‘SECRET MOSQUE’
A video shared on Telegram by Tommy Robinson, the founder and former leader of the English Defence League, was alleged to show a group of Muslim men leaving a “secret mosque” in Birmingham. The video was watched 10,000 times on the platform. The claims were subsequently dismissed by West Midlands police.
West Yorkshire police similarly dismissed images allegedly showing Muslims attending Friday prayers, pointing out they were taken before the lockdown was announced.
Shropshire police took action after a tweet from a far-right-leaning account maliciously claimed that a mosque was flouting the lockdown. The content was also reported to Twitter.
“These extremists are using coronavirus to get their pervasive message across that somehow the Muslim communities are to blame for the spreading of the virus,” Tell Mama director Iman Atta said.
“It is mainly repeat offenders — individuals who are already known to hold anti-Muslim views — who are repeatedly seeing this as a way to cause community turmoil and tension. It is at times like this when there are pressures in society that some people manipulate this to fuel hate and division across communities,” she said.
High-profile accounts linked to spreading malicious rumors against Muslims have included those of media personality Katie Hopkins and former UK Independence Party leader Gerard Batten.
Hopkins shared a video of police in India assaulting people for congregating at a mosque, tagging in Humberside police.
‘MEN OF PEACE’
“Indian police assisting young ‘men of peace’ to disperse from crowded mosque during lockdown. Something to aspire to hey @Humberbeat?” she wrote
In a tweet that went viral, Batten suggested mosques would remain open as the government would be “too afraid” to close them.
Batten has also promoted conspiracy theories about COVID-19 being a Chinese “bioweapon.”
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said that counterterrorism police were looking into reports that rightwing groups were trying to use the pandemic to create division.
“We have become aware that this is being used as an opportunity by right-wing groups to point the blame at some ethnic groups. It does not take a lot for these things to break down and for tensions to arise in these communities. It’s something we are monitoring very closely,” Jamieson said.
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