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| Police revealed the Saudi victim was wearing a full-length robe (abaya) and a hijab, signaling that the cause for murder might have been racist. (Photo courtesy: Eastnews Press Agency) |
Nahid al-Manea, who was 31 years old and studying at the University of Essex, died after being stabbed 16 times in Colchester, Essex. A 52-year-old man has been detained by police in connection with the murder.
Manea was wearing an abaya – a black cloak worn by some #Muslim #women – and headscarf when she was murdered, and police are investigating the possibility she was deliberately targeted because of her religious dress.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) today warned of a rise in intimidation towards the community in the UK, which has coincided with a surge in support for right-wing political parties.
“In recent months and weeks, an increasing number of Muslim women have been targeted in hate crimes,” said Talha Ahmad, chair of the membership committee at the MCB. “People are understandably very nervous and anxious… It has caused major concern.”
Ahmad said he has received reports of Muslim men and women being attacked, their houses being vandalized, and even of pigs’ heads being left outside front doors.
“Violence towards Muslims has been quite common over recent months,” he added. “If you live in Britain these days, you can’t escape the reality that Islamophobia is quite rife.”
He pointed to the emergence of the far-right extremist group Britain First, which has reportedly staged a series of mosque invasions in the UK in a bid to intimidate or provoke the Muslim community. The right-wing, anti-immigration UK Independence Party (UKIP) has also gained support among British voters.
According to the British Social Attitudes survey, the proportion of Britons who admit to be racially prejudiced has risen since 2001, The Guardian reported. There is “widespread Islamophobia” in the country, the newspaper noted.
Dr. Sheikh Ramzy, director of the Oxford Islamic Information Centre, says there has been a rise in hate crimes against Muslims, including racist remarks, attacks, and woman having their hijabs torn off.
“In general, there is a rise in Islamophobia… They call you names, they say ‘go back to your countries’,” he said. “Hate crimes are on the rise as well.”
Bloody attack
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| An image of the bag Nahid was carrying when she was killed. (Photo courtesy: Essex Police) |
Essex Police say a religious motivation is one line of inquiry in the killing of Manea, but not the only one. They are also investigating a possible link with the murder of James Attfield, who died nearby after being stabbed more than 100 times in March.
“It is very rare in Essex to have a knife murder, and to have two in three months,” Helen Cook, press officer at Essex Police, told Al Arabiya News.
Cook said Essex Police had been advising students not to go out alone, and have increased patrols in the area where Manea was killed.
While the possibility that the murder was religiously motivated remains, Cook said that hate crimes are “not particularly” common in the area.
The Muslim Council of Britain’s Talha Ahmad said the murder “has all the hallmarks” of a hate crime.
“All the media reports so far suggest she was targeted for her Islamic dress,” he said. “She appears to be the first casualty of the latest round of demonization of Muslims and Islam.”
Ahmad cited the April 2013 murder of Mohammed Saleem, an 82-year-old man who was killed while walking home from his mosque in Birmingham. Ukrainian student Pavlo Lapshyn, 25, was jailed for life for the racially motivated murder, after telling police he murdered Saleem because he hated “non-whites”.
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