Last weekend’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally sent a chilling message to British Muslims - Dr Qari Asim

This was not criticism of faith, extremism, immigration policy or integration. It was a demand to exclude an entire faith community from public life. That is not patriotism. It is collective demonisation.

If such language were directed at any other religious minority, it would rightly dominate headlines. Politicians would rush to condemn it. Commentators would immediately recognise it as dangerous prejudice. Anti-Muslim hatred deserves the same moral clarity.

As an Imam, I witness the consequences of this hostile climate daily. Congregants are routinely told to ‘go back home’ despite being born and raised in Britain. I have been labelled a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ simply for speaking publicly as a Muslim. Online abuse accusing Muslims of ‘invading’ Britain and vilifying British Muslims has become disturbingly commonplace.

Some dismiss this as trolling or internet noise. But language matters. Repeated often enough, hatred becomes normalised; and once it becomes normalised, discrimination and violence follow.

Home Office figures and monitoring organisations continue to report record levels of anti-Muslim incidents. Muslim women — particularly those visibly identifiable through hijab or niqab — remain disproportionately targeted. Mosques and Islamic centres increasingly face threats, vandalism and arson attacks, forcing places of worship to install barriers and surveillance simply to protect worshippers.

The horrific mosque shooting in San Diego this week, which claimed three innocent lives, was another painful reminder of where sustained dehumanisation can lead. We have seen similar horrors before in Christchurch, Quebec and Finsbury Park. Every time anti-Muslim hatred is dismissed as merely ‘controversial opinion’, society inches closer to accepting the unacceptable.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was right to say after the San Diego attack that the normalisation of anti-Muslim hostility must not be tolerated. Support from churches, synagogues and other faith communities has also been deeply appreciated. At moments like this, solidarity matters. But solidarity alone is not enough.

Anti-Muslim prejudice is still too often minimised or treated as politically negotiable in ways other forms of hatred or racism are not. This must change and British Muslims must be protected against a tide of hostility, scapegoating, discrimination and dehumanisation that threatens the very values of equality, dignity and justice our society claims to uphold.

Many British Jews now speak openly about feeling unsafe displaying visible signs of their identity in public. Many Sikhs are targeted because of their religious attire or background. The same fear increasingly exists within Muslim communities too, particularly among women who think carefully about which routes they walk home or whether public transport feels safe after inflammatory headlines or rallies.

All political parties must demonstrate zero tolerance towards racism in all its forms including anti-Muslim hostility, while influencers and civic institutions must challenge divisive far-right rhetoric before it becomes further entrenched.

No citizen in Britain should feel forced to conceal their faith to avoid intimidation.

The overwhelming majority of Muslim women across the world do not wear the face veil, and it is not compulsory in Islam. But that is beside the point. The grotesque scenes at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally mocking Muslim women in burqas and face veils demonstrated how poisonous this rhetoric has become.

There is a profound difference between criticising religion - which must remain protected in a free society - and publicly ridiculing visibly identifiable women because of their faith. That is not legitimate debate. It is prejudice masquerading as patriotism.

Britain’s Muslims are not outsiders. We are doctors, nurses, teachers, entrepreneurs, carers, police officers, soldiers and Members of Parliament. We contribute positively to every aspect of national life while remaining proudly Muslim and proudly British.

The suggestion that Muslims should be removed from ‘every place of authority’ is therefore not simply horrific rhetoric. It is an attempt to erode British values.

Britain does face genuine challenges around social cohesion, economic deprivation and integration in some areas. These concerns deserve honest discussion and practical solutions. But difficult conversations must not be hijacked by extremists who scapegoat minorities for every national frustration.

Encouragingly, support for Tommy Robinson’s rally appears to have fallen below expectations. Most people in this country understand that patriotism does not require hatred.

What threatens Britain is not the presence of Muslims or other minority communities in public life. What threatens Britain is the normalisation of rhetoric telling minorities they do not belong unless they erase their identity or faith.

We cannot build a cohesive society by teaching citizens to fear one another.

Dr Qari Asim is co-chair of the UK Muslim Network and Imam at Makkah Mosque Leeds.