GLMCC PRESS STATEMENT: KNIFE CRIME – WE NEED TO MEET YOUTH WHERE THEY ARE
GLMCC is deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe. They and their families are in our thoughts, and we pray the remaining victims make a full recovery.
Our focus should be on supporting the victims’ families and respecting their requests for calm to allow the authorities to carry out their work.
Instead, we witness further disturbances caused by a racist minority, intent on inciting violence against minority communities.
They have attempted to hijack legitimate outpourings of anger and grief towards the horrific Southport murders, for their own bigoted cause.
Judge Menary KC was correct in calling out the “idiotic rioting” and revealing the Southport suspect’s identity in order “to dispel misinformation that exists, especially online”.
The wider Southport community that turned out to clean and repair the local mosque that was targeted due to the spread of misinformation, is a true reflection of who we are as UK citizens.
We should be troubled when seeing mobs attack police and emergency workers. Such violence detracts from our collective efforts to steer youth away from these destructive paths.
Violence and knife crime are not specific to any race or religion. Once again, we have witnessed the devastating effect of this epidemic. It profoundly affects us all and must be tackled robustly.
That is why GLMCC continues to address this issue directly. Last Saturday 27th July, GLMCC held a panel discussion directed toward youth called Step Correct in which the panelists, Imam Mustafa Hussain and CEO Dr Abdul Haqq Baker, spoke about various struggles faced by youth today.
The success of the event witnessed a passer by anonymously handing in a machete to the mosque’s caretaker.
CEO of Green Lane Masjid – Dr Abdul Haqq Baker said:“We have to discuss issues that are relevant today, in a more personal gathering. It is the responsibility of community leaders to speak to and with young people and not at them in order to understand their challenges and empathise with them. If we are good listeners, we can be good trusted advisors. We need to meet the youth where they are, there will be new challenges that we are unfamiliar with.”
GLMCC has been running a knife campaign for over three years and has successfully delivered various sermons and youth workshops on the dangers of gangs and crime.
GLMCC calls for all communities, regardless of ethnicity or background to support its youth. We also call for stricter laws on the spreading of misinformation that sadly surfaces the deep thread of religious, Islamophobic and racial hatred amongst us. We hope to see the new government handle this type of extremism with a correct and fair response.
