UK Home Secretary urged to rein in violent anti-Iran protests

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has today, Friday, called on the UK Home Secretary to take immediate action to protect the public from violent protestors claiming to be demonstrating against the government of Iran but are in fact targeting Muslim community institutions and Iranian restaurants and businesses across the UK.

The Commission said the most notable aggression is centred on the Islamic Centre of England (although not limited to it nor confined to the capital – religious centres in Birmingham and Manchester have also seen similar attacks). The centre has experienced organised violence by highly charged mobs intent on doing damage to the premises and the people.

A statement from the IHRC read: “The protestors seem to be following a well-rehearsed script beginning with social media incitement and culminating in physical attacks, often involving weapons, on buildings and persons everywhere they gather. This also includes intimidating attacks to force Iranian restaurants and businesses to physically show their support for a Loyalist, violent minority by visibly displaying a Loyalist flag on their premises. A recent attack involved the use of Molotov cocktails.”

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In the letter to the Home Secretary the Commission said: “Given the invariably violent nature of these protests we are at a loss to explain the indifference of your government to ensuring public safety and protecting private property,” says .

The letter also accuses alongside their handmaidens in the media, have deliberately whipped up an environment of hate in which anything perceived to be pro-Iran is a legitimate target for its detractors.

The IHRC noted that on Tuesday 3rd February, “David Taylor MP called in Parliament for military strikes against Tehran, an action that would be illegal under international law. Taylor also called for proscription of groups like IHRC on the basis of “alleged links to the Ayatollah” that he does not evidence, and even falsely claimed Iranian dissidents were attacked outside the IHRC “centre”.

In view of the above threats and acts of intimidation, IHRC called on the Home Secretary to instruct the police to apply all lawful measures to protect persons and community institutions being targeted by anti-Iranian protestors. The Commission also urged the government to immediately cease its role in creating an environment of hate by falsely linking Muslim community groups to the Iranian government, which makes such hostility and violence against mosques and congregants inevitable.

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