J.K. Rowling Condemns Islamophobic Attack at London Mosque
- By Alison Lesley --
- 21 Jun 2017 --
The author says right-wing politicians are sowing hatred towards Muslims.
J.K. Rowling, the author of the highly popular Harry Potter series, has indirectly written about the damage brought by sowing hatred and division towards outsiders. It is natural that Rowling was disgusted by the anti-Muslim rhetoric expressed in the aftermath of the Finsbury Park Mosque attack[/tweetit].
J.K. Rowling Condemns Islamophobic Attack at London Mosque[/tweetthis]
Darren Osborne, reported by police as a 47-year-old white male and a British citizen, drove a van into a crowd outside the mosque. The incident left a man dead and injured ten others. This attack took place during Ramadan, a holy month for all Muslims. Authorities have classified this dastardly attack as a terrorist attack.
There is a marked rise in anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric all over Europe and in western countries. The UK was not immune to such hate. Rowling swiftly commented on the many hate statements towards Islam which were made before the attack. She particularly zeroed on to a particular British newspaper which phrased the news so that it was blatantly anti-Muslim. The celebrated author said the newspaper has misspelled “terrorist” and it wrote “white van driver” in its place. She said it is a perfect time to analyze why and how Osborne was radicalized.
Let's talk about how the #FinsburyPark terrorist was radicalised. pic.twitter.com/Lx1woEaLKL
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 19, 2017
What many “'right wingers” failed to notice was that Osborne, the terror suspect, was being beaten up by bystanders present in the scene when he was saved by the imam of the mosque. The imam, Mohammed Mahmoud, protected him from people who tried to beat him up and kick his head. Osborne reportedly got out from the van and shouted that he wants to kill all Muslims.
Theresa May, the UK Prime Minister, has described this event as a terrorist attack which targeted the Muslim community specifically. The Prime Minister, in her official statement, asked British citizens to unite.
Rowling pointed out through her tweets that a few media houses did not let up their blame game by blaming the mosque for the attack. The victim shaming was present even though the Finsbury mosque was well known for its role in combating extremism. She also used a tweet from Nigel Farage, the right-wing British politician, for the far right's role in promoting such violent activities. One of her tweets showed Farage standing near for-Brexit advertisement, sowing hatred towards different races. She skillfully pointed out the various methods by which anti-immigration politicians whip up hatred against refugees trudging in from the Middle East.
Victim blaming in the usual newspapers is disgusting. #FinsburyPark mosque won an award for combating extremism. https://t.co/xhmfpmSubN
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 19, 2017
Yeah, I was waiting for this. We're fine with using pictures of Syrian refugees to whip up resentment about immigration, are we? https://t.co/Xgwxf8FxXz
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 19, 2017
JK Rowling wins every time! Standing up against hate preacher @KTHopkins #FinsburyPark https://t.co/eS60676yA7
— Sam Willey?️? (@SamWiseSW) June 20, 2017
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