Local community, faith and political leaders have condemned the dumping of two pigs heads at Markazul Uloom School, an independent Muslim school in Blackburn. The heads were left either late on Friday, 18th December or in the early hours of Saturday, 19th December – one by the school gate and another inside the grounds, having apparently been thrown over the wall. They were found early on Saturday. The matter is being treated as a hate crime by local police.
There have been local protests at plans to convert a building on the school site into a mosque: 2,000 people have signed an online protest petition and last week the words “no mosque” were painted on a school wall. There is speculation locally that the animal heads may have been dumped by local people opposed to these plans or, more likely, that the attention drawn to the school by the protests may have made it a target for islamophobes trying to make trouble and stir up tension in the community.
The police responded quickly to the incident, laying on extra patrols in the area to reassure the public – and prevent any more trouble or copycat attacks. Blackburn Chief Inspector Sheena Tattum said “This is being treated extremely seriously and we understand the concern that incidents like this, while thankfully rare, can cause in the community. An investigation is underway to identify those responsible. We have carried out house to house inquiries in the area and done a search through CCTV. We would appeal for anyone who has any information to call police on 101.”
Faith leaders were quick to speak out. The Rt Rev Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn, said: “I utterly condemn this abhorrent act which will shock any right thinking person. Whoever is responsible should hang their heads in shame. If certain individuals feel there should not be a mosque on this site there are established routes to make their objections. The location of this incident, a school for girls, causes me particular concern.”
His sentiments were echoed by other Christian clergy. Dean Armstrong, the Dean of Blackburn, said: “I am appalled at the knee jerk reaction of some people. They could not have tried harder to insult followers of the Muslim faith. This comes at a time after the Paris attacks when some people feel particularly vulnerable.”
Kate Hollern, Labour MP for Blackburn, moved swiftly to condemn the offensive act, saying, “I was horrified to hear about this incident. Blackburn has a record of promoting community cohesion and of every person treating others with dignity and respect.” Ms Hollern was elected earlier this year, the town’s former MP, Jack Straw, having retired at the 2015 General Election, and her comments are a very welcome departure from the stand taken by her predecessor.
In 2006, Mr Straw said that he would ask any veiled woman attending his surgery to remove her veil as he felt he needed to see her eyes, mouth and nose during a face to face conversation so that he could properly understand what she was talking about. Mr Straw’s bubble was quickly burst when he was forced to admit that he had discussed constituents’ problems on the telephone before – when, of course, he could not see any part of them. Straw certainly did his bit to make racist views acceptable – which is particularly unforgiveable from someone who was in a position to set a better example. Many constituents were surprised that the Labour Party did not criticise Mr Straw’s views and went on to endorse him as a candidate in the following General Election.
Blackburn with Darwen Council Leader, Labour Councillor Mohammed Khan, joined in the condemnation, saying: “This is a criminal act and any reasonable person will be appalled by this. We can’t let such actions overshadow all the positives and great features in our community and our borough.”
However, Deputy Leader and local Labour councillor Andy Kay seemed to be treading something of a tightrope about the incident. He said, “The whole issue of the school has been going on for many years now. There has been some vandalism where windows have been smashed but nothing like this. There are one or two members of the community who seem to have got hold of the wrong end of the stick and think there’s already a mosque there but it is a long way from that at the moment.”
Mr Abdul Hamid Qureshi, Chair of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, visited the school after the news broke. He was more forthright about the incident, saying, “It is appalling, disgusting and insulting to our faith. This is about stirring up hatred. The equivalent would be leaving these items outside a Jewish Synagogue. It is particularly distressing after what has been happening in Syria and Paris. This incident is unacceptable, unreasonable and unnecessary. Any reasonable minded person would be appalled by this extremely unpleasant incident. I would ask all sides of the community for restraint and to not overreact.”
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