by Jules Gomes, Focus on Western Islamism
Top Muslim MP Accuses Home Secretary of Fabricating Anti-Muslim Terror Threat
The official narrative of a gang of far-right thugs plotting to violently disrupt a mass gathering in Suffolk of up to 100,000 Muslims belonging to the hardline Tablighi Jamaat sect has collapsed following the release of all 12 suspects detained by counter-terrorism officers.
The three-day Ijtima, organized by the controversial Markazi Mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, at Shrubland Hall, a Georgian manor, in Barham, Ipswich, from July 10-12, sparked protests from locals who warned that the village of 1,600 residents could not host the crowds.
Organizers said they shut down the Ijtima earlier than planned “solely in the interests of public safety after police shared intelligence indicating a credible risk of disorder from individuals intending to travel to the area.”
Home Secretary Fuels Speculation of Far-Right Threat
On July 13, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told parliament that police “acted with speed and skill” after becoming aware of a “credible threat to the lives of those present.” Mahmood noted that police had described the incident as “extreme right-wing terrorism related” and that “thanks to their actions, those attending the UK Ijtima in Barham were kept safe.”
“We must all stand united against hatred. The actions of a minority do not represent who we are as a country, and we should never be defined by those who plot violence against their fellow countrymen and women,” Shabana, who identifies as a practicing Muslim, stressed.