British police investigates anti-Muslim letters

Britain’s counter-terrorism officers are investigating a series of anti-Muslim letters calling on people to participate in a “Punish a Muslim Day” on April 3. Residents in London, Yorkshire and the Midlands region of England have reported receiving the letters, which have been branded as “malicious correspondence” by police. West Yorkshire Police said the investigation is being coordinated by the UK's North East Counter Terrorism Unit (NECTU), and enquiries are ongoing. Assistant Chief Constable Angela Williams of West Yorkshire Police said: "What I want to do is to reassure the communities of West Yorkshire that these communications are being taken extremely seriously. “We understand that they may have caused concern and upset people, especially the more vulnerable members of society. Public safety remains our priority and I would urge our communities to be vigilant but not frightened.” Counter-terrorism police are treating the letters as a possible hate crime.

'Punish a Muslim Day' - we continue to receive reports of letters received from across the country. Now into double figures. Please report them into us at Tell MAMA or to 101. We are working with police forces on this malicious campaign. pic.twitter.com/4bph2RVBcv

— TellMAMAUK (@TellMamaUK) March 10, 2018

Images of the note, which contains a list of violent acts alongside a number of claims of why they were executed, have been widely shared online. The note incites verbal abuse and assaults on Muslims, as well as attacks on mosques. It asks people to carry out violent acts including verbal abuse, removing a woman’s hijab or head-scarf, physical assault and using acid as a weapon. These were ranked using a points-based system, with the letter stating: “There will be rewards based on action taken.” Police said they have a couple of letters that will be analyzed to determine their origin.

*Statement Re “Punish a Muslim” Hate Mail* People in Bradford and in other parts of the country have... https://t.co/YNV3SG7BfZ

— Naz Shah MP (@NazShahBfd) March 10, 2018

Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks), a project that monitors Islamaphobic hate crimes in the UK, said a photo of an envelope suggests at least one of the notes was dealt with at a Sheffield sorting office. "This has caused quite a lot of fear within the community. They are asking if they are safe, if their children are safe to play outdoors. We have told them to keep calm," said Iman Atta from Tell MAMA. The group said it had received reports of people in Bradford, Leicester, London, Cardiff and Sheffield receiving the letters.This article was first published on banglatribune.com