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Muslims get to know neighbours

RACE hate crimes have doubled in Camden since the July 7 bombings, according to community leaders in Queen’s Crescent.
With many of the crimes going unreported, members of Gospel Oak’s Muslim community decided to take the matter in to their own hands.
The result was a weekend of events designed to break down misconceptions of what Islam means – and “help neighbours get to know one another”.
The events included tours of the Gospel Oak Mosque in Weedington Road – complete with demonstrations of Muslim rituals and prayers – and exhibitions of Islamic art and calligraphic writing. Visitors were also nourished by food cooked by the areas different Muslim groups - including dishes from Somalia and the Middle East.
Foyezur Miah, the deputy manager at Fleet and Queen’s Crescent community Centres, was one of the organisers. He also works as a crime reporting officer – a member of a scheme designed to make it easier to report racial motivated crime.
He explained: “Sometimes it is hard to report racially motivated crime to police. It could be for a number of reasons, such as language, or fears that you will not be taken seriously.”
To counter this, Mr Fiah is able to log reports at the community centres and pass information to police.
He said: “From what I hear it has doubled and a lot of people do not report it. One lady said to me the police laughed at her – they said she had no evidence. A lot of Muslim women have said they have been spat at in the street. But the police can only do so much. It is very hard to arrest some one for these types of incidents.”
Police say that between July and October of last year 137 crimes were reported – while during the same period this year, the figure stood at 130.
Mr Miah continued: “We realised it was not always the fault of the people committing these crimes – they just have a bad perception of Islam. “When you hear Islam on the news, immediately the word terror comes to mind. We wanted to change this.”
With over 500 people attending, he believes it was a success. The Kentish Town Community Organisation, a voluntary group of 120 young people, was also involved.
Chairman Sharhabeel Lone said: “People are inundated with headlines about the relationship between Islam, extremism and terror.
“Although some of the coverage has been honest, the majority has been ill informed. Negative coverage has painted the vibrant and diverse British Muslim community with a broad brush as the result of the actions of a few individuals.”
A Camden police spokesman told the New Journal they urge any one who is a victim to come forward. They said: “We take hate crime very seriously and will not tolerate it any forms.”



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