Far Right riots – thoughts, guidance and more from PREACH Inclusion

Photo by James Eades on Unsplash.

Comment and guidance by Priya Aggarwal-Shah

Stay safe, stay alert.

Four words that have become all too familiar within WhatsApp groups among Muslim and ethnic minority communities.

“Don’t stay out late… avoid that area… maybe change your plans… etc.”

Welcome to the UK in 2024. A place where racism, Islamophobia, fascism and more are very much alive.

We’ve always known it; we didn’t need some riots over the last week to confirm it. Now everyone else is aware and wondering what to do.

But let’s take you back a little, and help you understand why some of these issues exist.

Racism is an uncomfortable topic

The hard and harsh truth is that British people don’t like talking about race. We have this fear of getting it wrong or worry that we don’t know enough about racial issues. The other challenge is the fear of offending others, stopping us from asking questions that can help us learn and break down barriers. This is all confirmed in the Race and Microaggression workshops I host.

And now when I think about it, perhaps the term microaggression is problematic in itself – there is really nothing micro about a microaggression. It’s racism. And all those companies implementing ‘unconscious bias’ training, let’s be real: that’s just a nice way of saying ‘I think my employees often exercise an element of racism when hiring new people.’

We must be able to talk about it and call the thing the thing. As soon as we cherry-pick our language, we are undermining and invalidating the experiences that so many ethnic minority individuals are encountering.

Islamophobia is rife

"Surely, pulling off a Muslim woman’s hijab, throwing acid on their face, vandalising mosques and damaging graves can only be labelled as one thing."

The Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer the most senior politician in our country, is failing to label the current riots and behaviours that have been happening for years now, as Islamophobic. Surely, pulling off a Muslim woman’s hijab, throwing acid on their face, vandalising mosques and damaging graves can only be labelled as one thing. When other religions aren’t targeted in the same way, the answers are obvious.

It’s not enough for Muslim people to only be calling it out – it has far more substance when people outside of this community can label it.

When you fail to call something for what it is, you are complicit in the terror it’s causing.

We are a diverse nation, but we are not inclusive

"There is a sizeable proportion of our country that supports a party like Reform - one that doesn’t value immigrant contributions, multiculturalism and integration, and one that promotes division over what we have in common."

Our General Election on 4th July, 2024 confirmed the rise of right-wing populist party, Reform.

Reform received 14% of the vote share and four seats, more than the Lib Dempcrats’ 12%, despite them holding 71 seats. It’s a strange consequence of the first-past-the-post system and perhaps a good one too - while many would like to see proportional representation in our elections, it would mean that more extreme parties get more seats and thus a say in our policies.

And this isn’t a good thing. Our latest Census data (2021) showed that around one in six people residing in the UK, were born abroad. It also showed that c.18% of the population is ethnic minority, with many cities being global majority, I.e. ethnic minorities make up the majority of the city (Birmingham, Leicester, Luton etc). We also have more religious diversity than ever before.

So, on paper we are a diverse nation.

But in reality, there is a sizeable proportion of our country that supports a party like Reform - one that doesn’t value immigrant contributions, multiculturalism and integration, and one that promotes division over what we have in common.

The riots aren’t a result of recent tragic events; they have been brewing for some time, fuelled by politicians and the media.

How to move forward from this

As an organisation, we are here to support the industry. We are called PREACH Inclusion – PREACH standing for Promoting Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage. This is what our organisation stands for; everything the riots over the last week do not.

As many Muslim and ethnic minority individuals continue to feel uneasy, anxious and worried, here is our advice for companies to support their employees in an appropriate way.

Call the thing the thing. Language matters. These aren’t protests; these are riots, which are racist and Islamophobic. They are led by fascists, who are violent, dangerous and are creating a culture of fear. It’s important we acknowledge exactly what these are.

Remember your emotional contract with your employees. When we say ‘check-in with your Muslim and ethnic minority employees and colleagues’, we mean this needs to go beyond asking: are you OK? Suggest hosting safe spaces for people to share concerns and signpost people to employee assistant programmes.

Be reactive. There are rumours of new riots being announced daily and regardless of whether these claims can be substantiated or not, the fear is enough to make people want to stay at home. Allow your employees more flexibility, more working from home, finishing early, if required. There is no need for anyone to put themselves in compromising situations.

Educate yourself about racial issues, Islamophobia, white supremacy, immigration patterns and more. Good allyship is doing the homework to understand the challenges faced by marginalised groups; not expecting your diversity networks to lead on these.

Here are some resources to help you:

Our Faith and Religion guidebook, produced in partnership with London Property Alliance.

Our Race guidebook, also produced in partnership with London Property Alliance.

Learn more about Islamophobia here.

Our comment piece on culturul intelligence during a time of global conflict.

Finally, take it a step further and openly show your support. Messages, posts and more all make a difference.

At a time when DEI has received so much backlash, we’d argue that intersectional inclusion is more important than ever.

We’ll continue to #PREACHInclusion and support our members and network accordingly. If you’d like any assistance, please email: hello@preachinclusion.com