Islamophobia has been fuelled by the ‘War on Terror’ – Stop the War Coalition’s statement on the terrorist attack in New Zealand

Stop the War Coalition condemns the appalling attacks on people praying in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and sends deepest condolences to all involved.

This attack appears to have been carried out by extreme right terrorists, who acted in the most brutal and depraved way against their victims.

We have consistently campaigned against Islamophobia, which is the major from of racism in the world today, and which has been fuelled by the wars on Muslim countries initiated by Bush and Blair. We argued back in 2001 that if you attack mainly Muslim countries then you have to demonise the inhabitants of those countries. This is exactly what has happened. Those fleeing these wars as refugees have also been demonised and scapegoated, with the predictable consequence of the rise in racism.

Contributing to this racism have been politicians and media who have been happy to attack Muslims for cheap political gains. They should be ashamed – from Donald Trump to Boris Johnson – of their anti-Muslim hate speech.

We will continue to do all we can to oppose Islamophobia and racism. We will also be joining the Stand up to Racism demonstration in London on Saturday where we will remember the victims of this terrible atrocity.