Growing Islamophobia after the Sep 11 attacks in New York and the July 7 bombings in London has reached such proportions that several Asian families are considering leaving Britain, according to reports. Asians, particularly Muslims, see themselves as being targeted by the security forces and fear becoming scapegoats. The Friday raid on a house belonging to a Muslim family in east London has further fuelled such fears.
Mohammed Azhar, a Kashmiri Briton, said that people were now “terrified” of being mistaken for extremists. “People feel unsafe and are thinking ‘we should go’, and these are people who have given a lot to this country. They have worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week. We are angry and we are scared. It’s a case of shooting first and asking questions later. They can say anyone is a terrorist,” he said.