British Muslims, mosques and businesses hit by racist attacks

Britain's Muslim population has been hit by racist attacks, with fire bombs being thrown at a mosque and an Iraqi-owned restaurant in northern England.

The attacks, which caused minor damage, follow official warnings issued to 350 mosques and community centres by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) about the risks of a racist backlash after the outbreak of war.

In the latest incident, the Madinah mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was hit by a petrol bomb early last week which caused superficial damage. A pig's head was thrown at the same mosque last year, during the Afghanistan war.

Ten days ago, a petrol bomb was thrown at a pizza restaurant run by Iraqi émigrés in Redcar, Cleveland, as staff served customers. A man aged 34 was arrested after the attack.

Despite these incidents, Muslim commentators believe it is unlikely that British Muslims will be subjected to the same level of hatred that followed the 11 September attacks.

Then, hundreds of incidents, ranging from life-threatening attacks on Pakistani taxi drivers to fire-bombings of several mosques, were reported. Ahmed Versi, the editor of Muslim News, said he believed there would be far fewer racist incidents during this conflict because the British public was far more critical of the war and far less sure of its morality.

However, he said, several readers had reported being abused, including two Arab students in Dundee who were insulted, and a woman wearing the hijab who was spat at in Sutton, Surrey.

Fears of racist attacks led the MCB to issue posters this month advising mosques, Muslims schools and centres to step up security and brief themselves on their legal rights.

So far, most attacks have been restricted to verbal abuse, said MCB spokesman Iniat Bunglawala. He said far-right racist groups such as the British National Party were probably trying to orchestrate a backlash, but with little success. The BNP is campaigning heavily in northern towns with large Muslim populations.

"The war is being used as an excuse for hatemongers to carry out their hate crimes," Mr Bunglawala said.