Debate on community cohesion

We asked:- Has community cohesion been irrecoverably
damaged by the London terror attacks or is the deterioration a
short-term phenomenon?

Here is the comment we received.

“I am quite surprised at the hype around community cohesion
after the July incidents and why it has suddenly become an issue.
Unwarranted direct acts of aggression, heinous crimes and
unprintable atrocities around the world directed at people of a
particular faith have not attracted such attention in terms of its
backlash and the impact on community cohesion. Hate/race crimes
have been perpetrated across the country on an ongoing basis ever
before the July incidents but has not been an issue with community
cohesion so why now? It appears to be that this is simply a case of
giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it!

In decades of Muslim communities living in the UK have they ever
been a threat to the security of the country, rather they have been
at the receiving end of race/faith hate attacks and now the whole
community has to pay and answer for the actions of a few
individuals totally condemned by any civil person and which does
not in any way represent the community’s beliefs or the
teachings of their faith. The perpetrators of the crime should be
brought to book and made to answer for their deeds as in the case
with any other crime be it against an individual or the society at
large. I believe attacks on the community have been carried out by
people who are hate mongers and racist, simply using this as an
excuse to verbally and physically express their real feelings which
would have been otherwise unacceptable and the media would take the
most blame in this.

I believe in order to repair the damage and for good community
cohesion, these acts should be totally condemned by the government
and the security forces should deal with such cases as real crimes
and guarantee the safety of the Muslim community. For government
officials and the media to make this an issue is to sanction the
attacks on the community and playing the race card! Everyone has a
right to their belief and convictions and anyone who acts in a way
to endanger the lives of others whatever their race, creed or
belief should be made to answer for it, at the end of the day
everyone is individually accountable and would answer for their
deeds. No community should be made to feel like second class
citizens and be apologetic for their beliefs, we should respect the
rights of everyone and work together for a better and safer
community.”       

Concerned citizen – London Borough of
Camden