In many of the articles I wrote before, I warned that attacks on ordinary people in the U.S. and Europe, regardless of whether they are carried out by Daesh or with racist or anti-Islamic motives, are aimed at building a climate of hate between Muslims and Western societies. The increase in "Islamophobic" incidents in the Western world supports this warning.
During the previous month of Ramadan, two serious assaults were committed against Muslim migrants which resulted in death, one of them being in the U.K. and the other in the U.S. An attacker named Darren Osborne drove his truck over a group of worshippers who were leaving taraweeh prayer at the Finsbury Park Mosque in London. One civilian lost his life and 10 others were injured during the attack. The attacker, who was neutralized by worshippers, shouted, "I want to kill all the Muslims."
A young girl named Nabra Hassanen, 17, was kidnapped and murdered by Darwin Martinez Torres when she quarreled with him on her way to the mosque with her friends in Sterling, Virginia. Local police units argued that there wasn’t any indication as of yet which suggested the attack was a "hate crime" or motivated by prejudice.
However, there is serious evidence that the murderer committed this murder as a result of his antipathy of Islam. Hassanen's family also expressed that their daughter was murdered because she was a Muslim. With this attack, serious suspicions have aroused as to whether the mosques in the U.S. are safe. It was criticized in the media that U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to actualize the decree to ban the entry of the citizens of some Muslim countries into the U.S. has encouraged Islamophobic attacks. Trump's silence against the attack in Sterling was noteworthy, arguing that the visa ban was intended to protect Americans against terrorism.
Last Thursday, an assaulter tried to run over a crowd of worshippers, with his vehicle, who were leaving the mosque in Creteil, near Paris. However, he could not achieve his goal due to barriers previously installed at the entrance. French news reports reported the attacker said he wanted to avenge the Daesh attacks in Paris.
Another attack occurred in Avignon, France, yesterday. A total of eight people were injured in the armed attack that took place in front of a mosque in the city. Even though there was no satisfactory explanation as to why the attack took place, it was noted in newspapers that the prosecutor who investigated the case ignored the possibility of a terrorist attack. No matter for what purpose it was carried out, this attack disturbs Muslim immigrants because of previous incidents.
There have been many attacks on Muslim immigrants in the U.S. and Europe. However, these attacks escape the public notice, as they do not result in death. Except for some instances, the Western media makes special efforts to ensure these attacks are not considered as "terrorist attacks.”
According to the information provided by the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), the number of attacks on Muslims in the U.S. was 1,409 in 2015, and rose to 2,213 in 2016 with a 57 percent increase. Also, racist attacks in the U.K. has soared by 40 percent when compared to 2016.
The increase in the proportion of Islamophobic cases in the U.K. has also been reflected on in media debates. The attack which took place at Finsbury Park Mosque in London is an indication of a typical case of what might occur when Islamophobia is let loose. In these analyses, it is expressed that the right-leaning media outlets encourage anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic agendas.
