Former councillor and chairman of Easton’s Jamia Mosque, Abdul Malik, believes these are worrying times for Muslims.
Mr Malik, the founder of PAK Butchers, wrote to the Bristol Post about how Muslims were now being verbally abused and treated with suspicion because of their religion.
He wrote:
“It’s profoundly worrying and concerning that whilst we British Muslims, keep having the same discussions, making the same points and offering the same explanations, the inevitable is becoming more apparent.
“We Muslims have raised concerns over ‘the war on terror’ for over 10 years now – and in that same decade, terrorism has increased rapidly around the world, the truth is Muslims have been the biggest victims.
“Muslim countries have been ravaged with violent conflicts triggered by invasions and insurgencies which have destroyed millions of lives.
“Islam has been ridiculed and Muslims have been vilified on a near daily basis in the media throughout the globe.
“Muslims are treated with suspicion at airports and public transport, to the stage it’s like a dark inside joke amongst Muslims, who’ve surrendered to a dismal reality.
“The real humiliation comes from the fact that Western powers still maintain an alliance with regimes like Saudi Arabia, which manufacture and export the ideology of terrorism (salafism/wahhabism). More recently, the US approved the sale of $1.29 billion worth of arms to the Saudi regime.
“Yet Western media and governments have the nerve to claim that Muslims should condemn extremism and the somehow we should ‘do more’ to prevent extremism, I mean truthfully there’s not much more we can do.
“One has to now question that as British citizens how has it got to the stage that we have just started to accept this humiliation?
“I say this with a heavy heart, but we are sliding towards very troublesome times.
“The trend appears to be that with every terrorist attack the level of Islamophobia increases in number and severity.
“Just yesterday I met a group of young students who were walking through town and were abused verbally just because they were wearing a hijab and gathered in a group. I would argue that there are three to five more terrorist attacks pending, before there’s an excuse to start banning the hijab “in the interest of community cohesion or public safety”.
“And based on the trend of Britain’s counter-terrorism policies, I foresee that many Muslim / civil rights activists in this country who will be imprisoned in a bid to silence any dissent.
“With every increased threat of terror, Western governments usher in new laws and policies to supposedly counter such threats.
“Most recently, the UK government announced it will grant police and spy agencies access to our internet browsing history.
“Perhaps humanity needs to be submerged in complete darkness before we can appreciate the light once more.
“As a politician I fought this country’s cause in supporting the argument that an international issue such as Palestine or Iraq does not have much to do with local politics.
“Even though I managed to talk about Palestine and Kashmir as a councillor, many officers and leaders couldn’t see the point and its relevance to our city.
“Today it seems those causes are relevant and will have a huge bearing on what happens here, in our city now and in the near future.
“I was wrong to concede that those issues are not relevant to me and my city on a local level. They are, and they will be forever.
“Every Bristolian that is affected by these terrorists who claim to be from the “Muslim faith”, and every Bristolian Muslim racially abused by another Bristolian claiming to represent the “British public”, is exactly the reason why the international picture has become so profoundly important locally.
“Being a Muslim who was born in Bristol, I now, for the first time in my life feel, we, people of faith, must prepare ourselves for what lies ahead, and it’s going to be complicated.
“A saying of the Prophet Muhammad comes to mind: ‘There will come a time when holding on to your faith will be like holding on to hot coals.’ ”