LONDON – British Muslim leaders have condemned the actions of a self-proclaimed Islamic vigilante group that has been harassing women for being immodestly dressed on the streets of East London.
Videos of the group’s activities, posted on YouTube, also show them chastising one man for drinking alcohol, telling him “not to drink in this area, it’s a Muslim area”.
The hooded members of the gang then use homophobic language against another man, before chastising a group of women telling them they should dress more modestly.
The chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, which campaigns for peaceful co-existence between communities, has condemned the group’s actions.
Mohammed Shafiq said: “We live in the UK and we are governed by the UK law. There should be no mob rule. If people are involved in this behaviour, it is worrying but it is an isolated incident.”
A spokesperson for the East London mosque said: “These actions are utterly unacceptable and clearly designed to stoke tension and sow discord. We wholly condemn them.
“The East London Mosque is committed to building co-operation and harmony between all communities in this borough. The actions of this tiny minority have no place in our faith or on our streets.”
“We advise anyone who has been harassed by these individuals to contact the police. “We will monitor the situation closely and our Imams will speak out against such actions.”
The police has so far arrested four men allegedly connected with the group and is still looking for others, including the author of the off-camera voice on the video.
The Muslim vigilantes are not the only ones calling on women to dress and behave more modestly. Last week, an English Conservative MP was criticised for his comments saying women risked rape by wearing short skirts and high heels.
Richard Graham, Conservative MP for Gloucester, was quoted in the British media as saying: “A night out is about having fun without putting yourself at risk.
“If you are a young woman on her own trying to walk back home through a park early in the morning in a tight, short skirt and high shoes, and there’s a predator… if you are blind drunk wearing those clothes how able are you to get away?
“Although we have a pretty heavy police presence, life doesn’t give you full protection from a predator all the time. You have got to help look after yourself as well.
“It’s not about the impact of your clothes on a potential predator in my view – it’s about whether the clothes you’re wearing make it harder to get away from a predator.”
A spokeswoman for the Women’s Resource Centre said such comments reallocated blame from the perpetrator to the victim.
Vivien Hayes commented: “The problem is not female vulnerability but a macho culture which produces the notion of male entitlement – a culture which consistently fails women through disbelief, victim-blaming and failure to investigate.” A spokeswoman for Rape Crisis England and Wales said: “These comments have set us back about 100 years.
“It doesn’t matter if you are off your face and lying naked on a bench – that man takes it upon himself to rape you. “This should be about putting the blame back on perpetrators.”
