Seeds and Weeds

Have you heard of this event? How did the information make you feel? What impact did this event have on the individuals involved? What impact did this have on the wider community?

Finsbury Park Mosque Attack The attack was carried out by Darren Osbourne at 12.15am on 19th June 2017. He killed Makram Ali, 51, who was on the pavement outside the mosque. The area was busy with worshippers attending Ramadan prayers. The mosque’s Imam sheltered Osbourne from others attacking him in order to prevent ‘any further harm that’s unnecessary, and to make sure he answers for his crime’ (ITV, 2018). In a trial that lasted for 9 days, Darren Osbourne was jailed for a minimum of 43 years. Justice Cheema-Grubb, who sentenced Osbourne, said that Osbourne had been ‘rapidly radicalised over the internet by those determined to spread hatred of Muslims.’ (BBC, 2018)

Seeds: the influences and conditions in society that foster or encourage fear, prejudice and hatred Weeds: the events that are able to flourish because of the seeds that have been planted

How can you play your part in stopping the weeds of Islamophobia from growing? What can society as a whole do to try to prevent the seeds of Islamophobia from being planted?