The British Deputy Prime Minister has taken an interesting stance in response to an anti-Muslim current created following the brutal murder of a soldier in Woolwich, southeast London.
Nick Clegg told a community event in Islington, north London that Å“terrorism has no religion because there is no religious conviction that can justify the kind of arbitrary, savage random violence that we saw on the streets of Woolwich”.
Speaking to representatives of a number of faiths, he quoted the Holy Qurâ„¢an to condemn both the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby last Wednesday and the ensuing anti-Muslim bigotry some extremists are committing in London and elsewhere across the UK.
Clegg quoted verse 32, chapter 5 of the Holy Qurâ„¢an, which says: “If anyone slays a human being, it shall be as though he killed all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be as though he saved the whole of mankind”.
Since the murder of the soldier, British media reported a large increase in anti-Muslim incidents both in person and online, with police even arresting several people for bigotry or other anti-Muslim attacks.
Faith Matters, an organisation that works to reduce extremism, said it had been told of about 162 incidents in the last few days, compared to between four to eight cases before Wednesday.
Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters, said incidents were happening on the streets and online.
“What’s really concerning is the spread of these incidents. They’re coming in from right across the country,” he told the BBC.
“Secondly, some of them are quite aggressive; very focused, very aggressive attacks. And thirdly, there also seems to be significant online activity … suggesting co-ordination of incidents and attacks against institutions or places where Muslims congregate.”
Police have reported several arrests since Wednesday. Benjamin Flatters, 22, from Lincoln, was arrested on Thursday after complaints were made to Lincolnshire police about comments made on Twitter that were allegedly of a racist or anti-religious nature. A second man was visited by officers and warned about his activity on social media, according to the police.
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This article originally appeared on: Press TV