Fear over safety at Medway mosque following UK riots

Kent Police says it will respond swiftly and robustly if any disorder occurs in the county. Mahima Abiden reports.

Transcript

00:00Frustrated and sad is how members of a mosque in Medway are feeling after violent protests

00:05and riots in other parts of the UK. This comes after misinformation was spread online about

00:10the recent Southport attacks where three young girls were stabbed and lost their lives.

00:15While police are out in full force, the Prime Minister says criminal justice will be ramped

00:19up and is offering mosques greater protection. But here in Gillingham, some say it just isn't

00:24enough.

00:25We've experienced some hate towards us. Individually as well. Verbally. From time to time you can

00:34hear people commenting or saying different things. I think it's a sad situation. I think

00:39this is something that should have been dealt with a long time ago. I think it's years of

00:44neglecting or brushing aside Islamophobia. Yeah, I think naturally when you see these

00:50things happen across the country you do feel a little bit unsafe. None of our activities

00:55at the mosque have stopped. We continue to pray, we continue to come for congregation

01:00and do our activities. However, we have to be vigilant, we have to be careful and we

01:05have to be watchful because you never know. You never know what's going to happen.

01:12While mosques across the country are being granted extra safety measures, this mosque

01:16has had CCTV cameras installed from when it first opened. But despite this, its leaders

01:21say they still feel unsettled. This introduction of emergency security means mosques can now

01:27ask for rapid responses, something Kent Community Group support.

01:31An attack on any place of worship, be it a church, be it a gurdwara, be it a mandir,

01:36be it a mosque, is just totally unacceptable. This is Great Britain 2024. We should not

01:42be in a situation where people, whichever faith, be it majority faith or minority faith,

01:47should be scared of going to their place of worship. So to see what's been happening in

01:51some of the northern towns, it is greatly upsetting and it is an issue of concern here

01:55in Kent as well. And that's why I think it's important that we get the right message out

02:01there and we support the police, we support our faith organisations, we support local

02:06businesses to ensure that what's happening in other parts of the country doesn't happen

02:11here.

02:12In a statement from Kent Police, a spokesperson said they are well prepared to respond swiftly

02:15and robustly to any incidents of disorder that may arise. The force is also engaging

02:20with communities to provide ongoing reassurance.

02:23These new measures are set to come into action across the country by this weekend. But in

02:27the meantime, both community and political leaders are reassuring the public that those

02:31who have acted violently will face the full force of the law.

02:34Mahima Abedin for KMTV in Gillingham.