UK Allocates £117 Mln to Protect Muslim Community

The British government announced today, Monday, that it will allocate £117 million ($137 million) to enhance the protection of mosques, religious schools, and Islamic community centers across the United Kingdom.

The government described the anti-Islamic acts committed in the country as "indefensible".

The rise in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents has been significant in Britain since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The British Home Secretary, James Cleverly, in a statement released on the first day of Ramadan, emphasized that Islamophobia has no place in society.

The Home Office mentioned in the statement that additional resources will be allocated over the next four years to "reassure and protect" the Muslim community.

This newly allocated amount is in addition to more than £29 million previously earmarked to be spent between 2023 and 2024.

In late February, the British government also announced an allocation of £54 million ($63 million) to the "Community Security Trust", an organization working to protect the Jewish community.

This year, Ramadan arrives as the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip enters its sixth month, following an attack by the movement on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in over 1160 deaths, mostly civilians, according to a count by the Agence France-Presse based on official figures.

Israel has vowed to "eliminate" Hamas and has been conducting intense bombings and ground operations in Gaza, leading to over 31,000 deaths, the majority of whom are civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-affiliated Ministry of Health.

These events have led to gatherings in the United Kingdom demanding the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, and demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in the region.

Individuals have been arrested during these demonstrations on charges of supporting Hamas, which Britain classifies as a "terrorist" organization, and for expressing anti-Semitic sentiments.

The British political landscape has also experienced divisions, particularly within the Labour Party, regarding the stance on the war.

The Labour Party recently withdrew one of its candidates for a parliamentary by-election after he made statements considered to be anti-Semitic.

Far-right demonstrators were arrested during a protest in London in November 2023.

Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the "poison of extremism" in an exceptional speech outside "Downing Street".