CAIRO – 11 March 2018: In the past few days, many London residents have received a letter inviting them to commit acts of violence against Muslims on what the letter dubbed as “Punish a Muslim Day” on April 3, 2018.
Home of free speech, civil discussions and the fight for progressing the rights of individuals, London has been reduced by a simple letter to a place where citizens are inciting violence against their fellow citizens.
As expected, the letter led to public outrage; people were taken aback by the notion of a day to punish Muslims, not just in London but also around the world.
The letter reads:
“They have hurt you, they have made your loved ones suffer. They have caused you pain and heartache. What are you going to do about it? Are you a ‘sheep’ like the vast majority of the population? Sheep follow orders and are easily led, they are allowing the while nations of Europe and North America to become over run by those who would like nothing more than to do us harm and turn our democracies into Sharia led police states. Only you can help turn this thing around, only you have the power. Do not be a sheep!”
The letter then goes on to offer the recipient a list with offences to commit against Muslims in return of rewards in what it labels as a “rewards based” system.
The letter, which reeks of white supremacy, offers points ranging from 10 to 2,500 points for attacks ranging from verbally abusing a Muslim to nuking Mecca, the city in Saudi Arabia where Muslims go to perform pilgrimage.
All heinous crimes. Monstrous, really.
The letter has been reported to the Metropolitan Police by a Muslim family, as well as a business, both of whom have received the letter. The police is currently undertaking investigations. No one has been arrested yet.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman revealed Sunday, “Police are investigating a report of malicious communications in a letter having been sent to the occupants of a residential address in east London. … A further report has been received from a member of the public in the SW4 area who received a copy of a letter through Whatsapp.”
The spokesman further affirmed, “The MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] does not tolerate any form of hate crime. If anyone believes they have been a victim of such an offence we would encourage them to report it to police so it can be fully investigated.”
In similar vein, West Yorkshire Police confirmed it had around 6 reports of letters advertising the “Punish A Muslim Day.”
Their spokesperson confirmed, “Counter Terrorism Policing North East are coordinating the investigation at this time and will consider any potential links to existing enquiries.”
Police services across the UK have urged anyone who has any concerns to contact their local police station.
Tell MAMA UK, a group that supports individuals who suffered anti-Muslim attacks, has advised those who receive the letter to report it.
The group have issued several tweets addressing the issue.
In another tweet, the group advised, “If you receive one of these letters, try not to handle it as much as possible for evidential purposes. Keep the envelope as well which is useful for police.”
Tell MAMA UK Director, Iman Atta, stated, “Those behind the malicious letters are trying to create fear within the Muslim communities and the threatening letter titled “Punish A Muslim Day” may be part of a wider campaign of hate against Muslims.”
Atta further explained that the letter “has caused quite a lot of fear within the [Muslim] community.”
“They [Muslims] are asking if they are safe, if their children are safe to play outdoors. We have told them to keep calm, and to phone the police if they receive one of these letters.”
Tell MAMA UK also, quite interestingly, documented the similarities between this campaign and the 2017 “Muslim Slayer” campaign that targeted mosques in London and the United States.
Although counter-terror police forces found no evidence linking the two campaign, the envelope within which the letter was sent suggests that it came from a sorting office in Sheffield and was sent via a second-class stamp, just like the “Muslim Slayer” campaign, explained Tell MAMA UK in an article dating March 9, 2018.
Moreover, the article explained, the “Muslim Slayer” campaign and this campaign also use the sword imagery and “juxtaposes it against the letter ‘m’ and the letter ‘s’” in the same way.
Extract from a Tell MAMA UK article, dating March 9, 2018 – Courtesy of Tell MAMA UK official website
Extremism, whether Islamic or otherwise, is not right. Extremists seek to drive a wedge through the arena of co-existence. They aim to spread fear, hatred and terror. Their existence relies on spreading their mentality and inciting fear in the lives of those who are innocent. But Londoners should not fall into this trap. They are more tolerant than most, according to multiple international statistics and opinion polls.
So, why hasn’t this letter caused so much fear? Is there a chance that citizens would be swayed into joining this sad excuse of a national day? And, most importantly, why has this letter not spread like Muslim extremism letters or attacks do?
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