U.K. News: Pregnant Muslim Woman Loses Baby After Islamophobic Attack & Man Arrested

[Search]

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

Source

The Thames Valley Police Department in the United Kingdom arrested a 37-year-old man Wednesday for a racially motivated assault on a pregnant Muslim woman and a 40-year-old man, the Independent reported.

The assault occurred Aug. 6, when the alleged attacker, who appears to be white, hurled racial epithets at the woman after leaving a grocery store in Buckinghamshire, England, the Independent reported. He then followed the woman to her car and began kicking her until she fell to the ground. The attack resulted in the woman losing her unborn child.

The man also reportedly assaulted another man, who tried to help the woman, by hitting him on the head with a bottle and a bag of ice. He was treated for head injuries at a nearby hospital.

This incident is among several other recent racially motivated crimes within the United Kingdom. The Independent reported Thursday that post-Brexit hate crimes have risen to approximately 60% — 14% higher than around the same point last year.

To be sure, anti-Muslim violence isn't just the United Kingdom's problem. In comparison to the immediate aftermath of 9/11, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States today are far more concentrated. In fact, according to theWashington Post, anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015 are five times higher than the rate than before 9/11.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations, with the collaboration from U.C. Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender, saw a spike in mosques being targeted for vandalism from 22 reported incidents in 2014 to 78 in 2015. The council's 2015 report "Confronting Fear" also noted that the increase in attacks followed the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015 in Paris and when Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump announced a "complete and total shutdown" on Muslims entering the United States.

Beyond the statistics, these numbers demonstrate how anti-Muslim sentiment has translated into actual violence against Muslims in the United States.

On Monday, the same day as Eid al-Adha, which is the holiest day of the year for Muslims, there were two high profile anti-Muslim hate crimes reported.

To be sure, anti-Muslim violence isn't just the United Kingdom's problem. In comparison to the immediate aftermath of 9/11, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States today are far more concentrated. In fact, according to theWashington Post, anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015 are five times higher than the rate than before 9/11.

The Council of American-Islamic Relations, with the collaboration from U.C. Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender, saw a spike in mosques being targeted for vandalism from 22 reported incidents in 2014 to 78 in 2015. The council's 2015 report "Confronting Fear" also noted that the increase in attacks followed the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015 in Paris and when Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump announced a "complete and total shutdown" on Muslims entering the United States.

Beyond the statistics, these numbers demonstrate how anti-Muslim sentiment has translated into actual violence against Muslims in the United States.

On Monday, the same day as Eid al-Adha, which is the holiest day of the year for Muslims, there were two high profile anti-Muslim hate crimes reported.
In New York City, a female Scottish tourist — dressed in traditional Islamic garments — was set on fire while standing outside a Valentino store on Fifth Avenue. She survived without any serious damage, after stomping out flames.

Earlier that morning, the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, in Orlando, Florida, was also intentionally set on fire. It was the same mosque where the shooter in the Orlando massacre once worshipped.
On Thursday, two Muslim women were attacked by a woman in Brooklyn, New York. The women were pushing their baby strollers when the attacker yelled at them to "get the **** out of America" and attempted to rip off their hijabs.

On Aug. 13, Imam Alala Uddin Akongi and his assistant were fatally shot at their Queens mosque in Queens in a racially motivated crime.

[jabeady]

I don't dispute any of this, nor do I have any intention of excusing it. However, since you have apparently taken it upon yourself to emulate the news media, I am going to hold you to the same standard as I hold them to.

Why have you omitted any mention of how these incidents are viewed by non-Muslims? Why have you not mentioned that in the Orlando arson, a suspect has been apprehended, is a known criminal with two prior prison sentences, and will now spend the rest of his life in prison? Why have you not mentioned that a suspect has been arrested in the Queens murders? Why have you not mentioned that such offences are vigorously prosecuted?

In short, why are you apparently making an inherent attempt to condemn Western society for the acts of its deviant members? Isn't this the same as what you accuse the Western media of doing?

[Serinity]

What a devil.............

And Allah knows best.

[Search]

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

Hey, thank you for your questions.

To answer your concern, I'm not trying to emulate the news media nor is that my purpose; I'm just copy-pasting articles that I'm running across in the news about Muslims and Islam that I think would be of interest to both Muslims and non-Muslims. And the reason I'm presenting these types of news is because there is a segment of the population that truly believes there is no such thing as "Islamophobia;" in fact, they say it is an inherently ridiculous term and that there is a very rational fear of Islam and therefore Islamophobia is nonexistent and a way meant to halt debate and therefore the term itself never meant to be taken seriously. In fact, we have a non-Muslim member here who even listens to famous personalities that says there is no such thing as Islamophobia. However, these incidents are very real to us as Muslims and not a nonexistent phenomena.

Do I think non-Muslims think this is okay? Well, that really depends on which non-Muslim you ask. I'm going to making a generalization here, but since I'm an American myself, I'd say that many Republicans would say that it is completely okay. In case you think I'm wrong, I'd ask you to read some of the comments I see in articles that are posted about Muslims and Islam on a daily basis; I read comments on a daily basis ranging from why we should send back Muslims to wherever they come from to killing all Muslims to saying that Islam is a cult to saying that we should nuke Muslim lands. On the liberal side, I'd say that non-Muslims are generally more accepting and more given to understanding that broadbrushing Islam and Muslims is not a healthy perspective to retain. Then again, I'm a liberal and always have been on the political spectrum; so, I know these things kind from experience as well. And I don't think it is not an accident that Hillary Clinton called majority of Republican voters voting for Donald Trump "basket of deplorables." There is a large segment of the blue-collar non-collegiate white population that feels keenly disenfranchised and wants a different status quo; to them, Donald Trump is what Obama was to my generation of Millennials when Obama talked about change during the Bush era wherein we Americans were absolutely sick of sending our troops and going to the war in the Middle East.

To be honest, I didn't know about that had been arrested in the Orlando arson attack; I do, however, know that a suspect had been apprehended in the Queens murders. Sure, in the U.S. and U.K., we prosecute criminals; but the point of me presenting these articles is not that we in our Western societies prosecute criminals but that Islamophobic attacks are real and so is Islamophobia.

Nope, that's wherein you're wrong; if you read my previous posts, you'll see a pattern, and the consistent pattern is that I do not condemn Western societies for its criminals; in fact, to be honest, I'm more than likely not to defend the West against anti-West sentiments that seems to rear its head in some Muslims. However, when I'm discussing the issue of West with non-Muslims, I do present the issue of Western interference and aggression in Middle East and elsewhere in the globe; and the specific purpose there is always to have the person come out with a balanced perspective and realize that much of the status quo in Muslim lands we're also responsible for as the West.

Well, I like to think I've some legitimate grievances against the media; one of them is that anti-Islamic stories are far more prevalent now in both sides of the spectrum than it was even five years ago, and I don't think that is a healthy direction for us on the globe; perpetually keeping us as a populace in fear of Muslims is really irresponsible though profitable enterprise. My other grievance is how right-wing media always seems perpetually to ignore the existence of moderates in Muslims, which make up the vast majority of the population.

For example, in the book The Color of Crime that we studied in law school, the author shows that whites are arrested more than any racial group which is not surprising considering whites are two-thirds of the population, yet in news media we often see blacks as being arrested far more than any other racial group. The book goes on to say that LexisNexis, a computerized database that catalogs news stories from more than fifty-six hundred sources, list very few materials that ever list the terms "White crime" or "White-on-White crime" whereas the same is not true for the prolific terms "Black crime" or "Black-on-Black crime." The author says, "The virtual absence of articles on White crime suggests that in our individual and collective minds 'White' and 'crime' simply do not go together." The reason I'm mentioning this is because this time of media bias has led to sayings like, "Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims." The disproportionate impact of such media bias is Islamophobic crimes and increase in Islamophobia. So, I'm just trying to cover the other end of the news that is rarely given the same coverage in the media, leading many people to dismiss or disparage the existence of Islamophobia.

I don't dispute any of this, nor do I have any intention of excusing it. However, since you have apparently taken it upon yourself to emulate the news media, I am going to hold you to the same standard as I hold them to.

Why have you omitted any mention of how these incidents are viewed by non-Muslims? Why have you not mentioned that in the Orlando arson, a suspect has been apprehended, is a known criminal with two prior prison sentences, and will now spend the rest of his life in prison? Why have you not mentioned that a suspect has been arrested in the Queens murders? Why have you not mentioned that such offences are vigorously prosecuted?

In short, why are you apparently making an inherent attempt to condemn Western society for the acts of its deviant members? Isn't this the same as what you accuse the Western media of doing?

[Serinity]

Some people just want to see the world burn.......... I'd enjoy to see the devils burn in hell..........And those who hit pregnant women....

[Mustafa16]

I hope he finds himself a nice husband in prison.....

[M.I.A.]

I listened to a shiek.. he sat in front of a room full of people.

he said how nobody cares who lives and dies in the pursuit of the worldly life.

and he was sad.


...I have no idea how he see's the world.


money is the easiest test.

[Mustafa16]

I don't dispute any of this, nor do I have any intention of excusing it. However, since you have apparently taken it upon yourself to emulate the news media, I am going to hold you to the same standard as I hold them to.

Why have you omitted any mention of how these incidents are viewed by non-Muslims? Why have you not mentioned that in the Orlando arson, a suspect has been apprehended, is a known criminal with two prior prison sentences, and will now spend the rest of his life in prison? Why have you not mentioned that a suspect has been arrested in the Queens murders? Why have you not mentioned that such offences are vigorously prosecuted?

In short, why are you apparently making an inherent attempt to condemn Western society for the acts of its deviant members? Isn't this the same as what you accuse the Western media of doing?

Because with western society, they can get out on bail....with Islamic society.....they and their family members and friends are bombed into oblivion....prison is not enough of a punishment.....and the UK pretty much hates all Muslims anyway, same with the us....ESPECIALLY the US...as half the country supports clown Trump

[Mustafa16]

I don't dispute any of this, nor do I have any intention of excusing it. However, since you have apparently taken it upon yourself to emulate the news media, I am going to hold you to the same standard as I hold them to.

Why have you omitted any mention of how these incidents are viewed by non-Muslims? Why have you not mentioned that in the Orlando arson, a suspect has been apprehended, is a known criminal with two prior prison sentences, and will now spend the rest of his life in prison? Why have you not mentioned that a suspect has been arrested in the Queens murders? Why have you not mentioned that such offences are vigorously prosecuted?

In short, why are you apparently making an inherent attempt to condemn Western society for the acts of its deviant members? Isn't this the same as what you accuse the Western media of doing?

and why are you so quick to defend a babykiller? if youre not going to be a productive member of this forum, and you're atheist, you might as well just stop defending all things anti-Islamic

[jabeady]

*Everybody* has a beef with the media, even the media has a beef with the media (as with Fox News). As for the Middle East, that's another conversation, but my own opinion is that we should never have gone into Iraq under Bush the Younger.

Now that that's out of the way, if you leave out part of the story, any story, you are editorializing, imposing your own views. If you pass on (as in cut and paste) an incomplete story, there is no difference.

Point is, if you are going to publicize something, especially for its informative value, then you owe it to your audience to give them as complete a picture as possible.

For example, in one of the incidents your post mentions, a bystander was also attacked when he tried to help the victim. Was this bystander Muslim or non-Muslim, and how badly was he hurt? Since your post was a cut and paste I realize this detail was absent from the original media story, but it should have been included and I hold the original reporter at fault. Where I hold you at fault is in not pointing out these omissions. Such a detail could help illustrate that Islamophobia is not a constant. How would you feel if the media had neglected to mention the Muslims who participated in the memorial for the French priest murdered by a terrorist?

I don't say you have to know the missing information, just that it's your responsibility to mention that it's missing. That way your audience knows they don't yet have the complete story. If you do know the missing information, then you are duty-bound to add it to your post.

Yes, there is Islamophobia, and yes, there's way too much of it (any at all is too much, but let's be realistic), and yes, it's important that people know about it. However, it's equally important that people, especially Muslims, know Islamophobia is the exception, not the rule, that it is disapproved of, and that people who act on it are punished. Telling people less than this is to tell them less than the truth.

[Search]

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

By the way, I think the vast majority of the global population, whether Buddhists, Christians, Jain, Sikh, or Jewish or Muslims, are good people. It's not the vast majority that concern me. I think non-Muslims are good people just as Muslims are good people. That said, just as some extremists are brainwashed in Muslim communities, some extremists are also brainwashed in non-Muslim communities. I know that we're all trying our best in whatever ways we can; but I still think we can do better because extremism shouldn't exist in any communities and we should be vigilant against those in our midst who try to sow injustice and inequity as a way of life. Period.

I don't dispute any of this, nor do I have any intention of excusing it. However, since you have apparently taken it upon yourself to emulate the news media, I am going to hold you to the same standard as I hold them to.

Why have you omitted any mention of how these incidents are viewed by non-Muslims? Why have you not mentioned that in the Orlando arson, a suspect has been apprehended, is a known criminal with two prior prison sentences, and will now spend the rest of his life in prison? Why have you not mentioned that a suspect has been arrested in the Queens murders? Why have you not mentioned that such offences are vigorously prosecuted?

In short, why are you apparently making an inherent attempt to condemn Western society for the acts of its deviant members? Isn't this the same as what you accuse the Western media of doing?

[Serinity]

Idk if I am wrong but here goes:

There are the extremist Christians, the extremist Muslims, Jews, Right-winged, non muslims, etc. All the non muslims and the Muslims and the Christians are all selected to try to burn the world.

While us who watch the video are "reprogrammed" to think "this is how kafirs are" this is how "muslims are"..........

All are taken to the extreme and we normal folks are trashed and categorized according to what is on TV.

Idk tho.

[jabeady]

and why are you so quick to defend a babykiller? if youre not going to be a productive member of this forum, and you're atheist, you might as well just stop defending all things anti-Islamic

Where do you see me defending him? Please quote the passage.

[Mustafa16]

Where do you see me defending him? Please quote the passage.

youre right, I'm sorry....I also shouldn't have insulted you and your atheism, so I apologize....

[jabeady]

youre right, I'm sorry....I also shouldn't have insulted you and your atheism, so I apologize....

No problem here. You can buy me a beer.

[jabeady]

In my post #10, my phone appears to have had a seizure. If any of you see italics while reading it, I have no idea what happened and I can't seem to edit it.

[Search]

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

I think I can see the value in what you're saying. However, if I add my perspective to what is said in the news media, I think I'd be adding words to the original story that might be taken for words that were authored by the original author; so, I'd think that a separate post would be more valuable in this context perhaps highlighting the omissions as you said. By the same token, I have to wonder if then I'm not be doing the job of the reader or audience who should be critical of information presented in the media without me highlighting specific omissions. I'd hope that no one with a modicum of intelligence would digest news stories without processing the information and reflecting on what is being said.

Also, I have to respectfully disagree with you; the article in question was posted yesterday and I just found the article today. I read the news story before I posted the article, but I do not consider it any way editorializing or imposing my views if I post a given story because obviously not all information will be presented in any article as I'm assuming there is typically a word count and limit for these articles. I don't know how I would have felt specific to an omission about Muslims participating in the memorial for the priest as I've not given it thought; but to be honest, if it was omitted, I would not be upset nor surprised as it is an entirely separate story though related to the original incident.

As a Muslim, however, I completely and respectfully disagree with you on one major point; while I agree with you that Islamophobic attacks might be not as pervasive though greatly on the rise, Islamophobia is pervasive. Today, Muslims and Islam are talked about in the media and in public discourse in a way that non-Muslims would never even think to talk about Jews, homosexuals, or women. Well, there are people, whom as I've told you believe that do not believe Islamophobia exists; so, the question of Islamophobia being disapproved never arises in some segments of the population because these people are of the mind there is no such thing and therefore no matter about which one can agree to disapprove.

Some of my personal brushes with Islamophobia are the following: I was, for example, in the court house; and I was praying in a corner which a liaison had approved in which for me to pray; two court officers came to the room and did not believe me that I was working for our own American government. When I was in law school, a law professor directly made statements specific to my hijab because of some belief that some male was oppressing me into wearing the hijab. I have had Muslim friends who have been told to go "back home" even though they're equally as American as the one yelling these things at them.

So, at least from my perspective, when I show Islamophobia is real here or perhaps even elsewhere, I'm telling the truth, my current truth as a Muslim.

*Everybody* has a beef with the media, even the media has a beef with the media (as with Fox News). As for the Middle East, that's another conversation, but my own opinion is that we should never have gone into Iraq under Bush the Younger.

Now that that's out of the way, if you leave out part of the story, any story, you are editorializing, imposing your own views. If you pass on (as in cut and paste) an incomplete story, there is no difference.

Point is, if you are going to publicize something, especially for its informative value, then you owe it to your audience to give them as complete a picture as possible.

For example, in one of the incidents your post mentions, a bystander was also attacked when he tried to help the victim. Was this bystander Muslim or non-Muslim, and how badly was he hurt? Since your post was a cut and paste I realize this detail was absent from the original media story, but it should have been included and I hold the original reporter at fault. Where I hold you at fault is in not pointing out these omissions. Such a detail could help illustrate that Islamophobia is not a constant. How would you feel if the media had neglected to mention the Muslims who participated in the memorial for the French priest murdered by a terrorist?

I don't say you have to know the missing information, just that it's your responsibility to mention that it's missing. That way your audience knows they don't yet have the complete story. If you do know the missing information, then you are duty-bound to add it to your post.

Yes, there is Islamophobia, and yes, there's way too much of it (any at all is too much, but let's be realistic), and yes, it's important that people know about it. However, it's equally important that people, especially Muslims, know Islamophobia is the exception, not the rule, that it is disapproved of, and that people who act on it are punished. Telling people less than this is to tell them less than the truth.

[Search]

(In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful)

Lol. Let me reassure you that it's not just you; I haven't been able to edit any posts on this thread either, and I'd tried quite a few times when I'd found grammatical errors and typos in my post.

*Sighs*

In my post #10, my phone appears to have had a seizure. If any of you see italics while reading it, I have no idea what happened and I can't seem to edit it.

[aaj]

No problem here. You can buy me a beer.

No can do. Muslims can't drink, buy, sell, make or be part of any process of it.

[M.I.A.]

In my post #10, my phone appears to have had a seizure. If any of you see italics while reading it, I have no idea what happened and I can't seem to edit it.

...another sign to stop drinking.


don't blame the phone bro.. it's textual discrimination.


siri be lawyering up!

no I'm trying to joke.


your lucky im not this funny irl.. although I am pushing boundaries..

I..

may need to hire security.


always talk nicely to your phone.