A prominent Islamic community representative has called on unionist politicians to convene a city centre rally to condemn recent racist attacks across Belfast.

And Dr Raied Al-Wazzan says Shaftesbury Square — epicentre of recent attacks on minority community shop owners and equidistant between anti-immigration hotbeds of Donegall Pass and Sandy Row — would be the ideal location for this gathering.

"I encourage political leaders in these areas to call a rally so that all the good people there can say these attacks on people with black and brown skin are not done in their name," Dr Al-Wazzan told belfastmedia.com. "I understand that these racist attacks are carried out by a very small number of people in these areas so this would be a chance for the majority to raise its voice."

A physicist by training who moved to Belfast from Iraq to Belfast in the late 1980s, Dr Al-Wazzan says he has never seen the Islamic community as fearful as they have been since the 3 August city centre anti-migrant demo and hate march to the new Islamic Centre on the University Road. "For a week after that day, many people with black and brown skin — many of whom aren't Muslim — were afraid to leave their homes, especially after dark," he explained. "Things have calmed down since then but many people are still cautious at night. They know, and the police have confirmed, that there is a paramilitary hand in these attacks and that frightens them further as they know these are people who have a history of violence and crime."

FEAR: A house burnt out in the Village on 19 August in what police say was a race crime. Pic by Pacemaker Press
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FEAR: A house burnt out in the Village on 19 August in what police say was a race crime. Pic by Pacemaker Press

Ironically, Dr Al-Wazzan says his relatives in Mosul, Iraq contacted him at the time of the race attacks in Belfast — which made headlines around the world — to check on his welfare. "I am just back from spending a month in Mosul over the summer," he added, "and in fact, it is true that I am safer there now than I am here."

A senior member of the Belfast Policing and Community Safety Partnership, Dr Wazzan has presented political and policing chiefs with a five-point plan to defend ethnic minorities from further attacks. This would involve:

  • Rapidly introducing strengthened hate crime legislation;
  • Further funding for the PSNI to put more 'boots on the ground' to protect ethnic minorities;
  • Tougher sentences for hate crime offenders in the courts;
  • More support for targeted businesses ("Some are packing their bags and leaving Northern Ireland.")
  • Stronger leadership from politicians - especially in the unionist community. 

"This is the worst time I have experienced for minorities since I arrived in Belfast almost 40 years ago," adds Dr Al-Wazzan. "It saddens me greatly to see my adopted city torn apart by the people committing these hate crimes but I always have hope that the rest of us, of all colours and all creeds, can unite to defeat the racists."